Language
Country/Area
No result found
The secret behind Southern Boulevard! Why is this route so tortuous? Find out more!
Southern State Parkway is a 25.53-mile (41.09-kilometer) controlled-access highway located on Long Island, New York, United States. The rich historical background and unique design style of this highway can't help but raise many questions: Why is this highway designed to be so tortuous, and what unknown stories are hidden behind it?
Southern Boulevard was originally constructed to improve access to Jones Beach.
Construction of Southern Boulevard began in 1925, led by renowned urban planner Robert Moses, and the first section opened to traffic in 1927. The highway begins at the border of Queens and Nassau and extends eastward to Heckscher State Park in Suffolk County. After decades of extension and reconstruction, the highway was fully opened to traffic in 1962 and remains an important transportation artery on Long Island.
The Design and History of Highways
The design of Southern Boulevard is distinctive, as it was designed as a winding route to meet the speed requirements at the time. In the early days, the main materials and construction techniques used for this road were very primitive, and sections of the road in many places were even built along the natural scenery at the time. Its curved design is a "linear park" concept intended to connect the city with the natural landscape. However, this design later became less and less suitable as traffic volume increased.
The original design was not only aesthetically pleasing, but also took into account the fact that commercial vehicles could not enter this road network.
The history of this road contains many interesting details. For example, in its early history, Southern Boulevard's first exit number was 13, while the Cross Island Parkway's exit numbering began at the Whitestone Bridge. After this, in order to maintain consistency in the exit arrangement, the exit numbering of Southern Boulevard was also adjusted.
Changes and improvements
As the city expanded after World War II, traffic demand on Southern Boulevard surged. In the 1950s, several sections of the highway were expanded to increase travel capacity. This allowed the Southern Expressway to be transformed into a modern expressway capable of handling higher speeds. However, in this process, many of the original design concepts were gradually abandoned.
Every chapter of Southern Boulevard’s history is a story of continuous evolution, from its original linear park to the busy highway it is today.
On this road, every curve created by vehicles, or every complex intersection bypassed, is actually the result of the influence of the traffic policy and urban planning at that time. Although these designs have undergone many renovations, they still retain the design features of the time.
Conclusion: The road to the future
The construction of Southern Boulevard is not only an important part of Long Island's transportation, but also a living history that records the pursuit of convenient transportation and respect for the natural environment during the urbanization process. Now, as time goes by, new demands continue to emerge. How will this highway face future challenges and changes?
