New York State Route 448

New York State Route 448 (NY 448) is a 3.90-mile (6.28 km) long state highway in western Westchester County, New York, in the United States. The route begins in the village of Sleepy Hollow at U.S. Route 9 (US 9) and goes in a northeast direction through the Pocantico Hills community in Mount Pleasant. It ends at NY 117 in Mount Pleasant, near the junction of NY 117 with Saw Mill River Road (NY 9A and NY 100) and the Taconic State Parkway. From 1930 to November 1970, NY 448 was part of NY 117.

New York State Route 448
Bedford Road
Map of Rockland and Westchester counties with NY 448 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length3.90 mi[1] (6.28 km)
ExistedNovember 1970[2]–present
Major junctions
South end US 9 in Sleepy Hollow
North end NY 117 in Mount Pleasant
Location
CountiesWestchester
Highway system
← NY 446→ NY 454

Route description
NY 448 proceeding north from US 9 in Sleepy Hollow

NY 448 begins at an intersection with New Broadway and US 9 (North Broadway) in the village of Sleepy Hollow, then heads through a residential area as Bedford Road. After the Webber Avenue intersection, NY 448 turns to the northeast, where it passes the athletic fields of Sleepy Hollow High School. NY 448 intersects with Sleepy Hollow Road, which leads into a residential development and parallels NY 448 northeastward for a short distance.[3]

Near the southern edge of Rockefeller State Park Preserve, NY 448 turns east and enters Kykuit, the estate of the Rockefeller family. At the hamlet of Pocantico Hills, the highway intersects with Lake Road and turns to the northeast, passing through more residential areas as it leaves the estate. NY 448 passes the Pocantico Hills Central School on its way, continuing northeast towards Phelps Way (NY 117). The road continues through a vacant area and heads northward into Mount Pleasant, where NY 448 terminates at an intersection with NY 117. Bedford Road continues east of this point as part of NY 117.[3]

History

The entirety of NY 448 was originally designated as part of NY 117 in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.[4] In 1932–33, John D. Rockefeller offered to straighten a short section of NY 117 that passed through Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate, citing safety concerns. The state expressed similar sentiments in 1949, deeming the stretch unsafe for commercial traffic.[5] By the 1960s, the annual average daily traffic count along NY 117 had grown to 5,000 vehicles per day, far more than the 1,800 that the road had originally been built to serve.[6] This led the New York State Legislature to approve plans for a new alignment for NY 117 in 1965.[7] The new road would be located north of the existing road, relieving traffic congestion on the Albany Post Road (US 9) and NY 117 and providing access to NY 9A, US 9, the Taconic State Parkway and the proposed Hudson River Expressway in the North Tarrytown area.[6]

NY 448 southbound roughly 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southwest of NY 117

Several different routes were considered for the alignment. The path ultimately selected by the state was a four-lane, limited-access highway 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the current alignment that would cost $5.5 million (1966 USD). Another proposed route would have cost $8 million (1966 USD), containing additional grades and curves while coming closer to the Rockefeller estate. Construction on the new NY 117 was expected to begin before the end of 1966.[6] The reaction from area residents was mixed, with some believing that the only beneficiaries of a realigned NY 117 was the Rockefeller family.[8] Rumors that the Rockefeller family had wanted NY 117 moved had existed as early as the 1930s,[7] and US Representative Richard Ottinger believed that Nelson Rockefeller, then the Governor of New York, was using his political power to move NY 117 away from Kykuit at the cost of the state. An aide to the Rockefellers denied this charge.[9]

The Sleepy Hollow Valley Committee, comprising 11 members whose homes were in the right-of-way of the new alignment, protested that the route would destroy the countryside. They were opposed by the Potantico Hills Residents Committee, as most residents in Potantico Hills supported the new alignment. The former committee filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court to block the new roadway, and they were joined in their efforts by conservationist groups and the village of North Tarrytown.[8] On June 28, 1966, the case was heard by the court. Engineers with the New York State Department of Highways were accused of showing "unprecedented pell-mell haste" in working on a project with the Rockefellers before any injunctions could stop it. State Attorney General Joseph Romano countered that the state was not conspiring to provide anyone special benefits, saying that NY 117 was dangerous for years and opponents to the project were "thinking up little gimmicks, picayune arguments and ethereal ideas to mislead the court."[10]

A request by the state to dismiss the suit was denied in August 1966,[11] and the case was eventually heard by the state Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state. In the meantime, the state built the easternmost mile (1.6 km) of the new alignment, which was not affected by the lawsuit. On July 7, 1967, the court ruled 6–1 in favor of the Sleepy Hollow Valley Committee.[12] As a result, the western half of the new road was moved an additional mile to the north, bypassing North Tarrytown completely.[13] The new alignment of NY 117 was completed in November 1970 and its former alignment along Bedford Road was redesignated as NY 448.[2][14][15]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Westchester County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Sleepy Hollow0.000.00 US 9 – Tarrytown, OssiningSouthern terminus
Tarrytown3.906.28 NY 117 (Bedford Road) – Pleasantville, Briarcliff ManorNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  U.S. roads portal

References
  1. "2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 316. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  2. "12 Million Dollar Route 117 Opens 6 Days After Election". The Weekly News. Ossining, New York. November 25, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  3. Google (March 12, 2008). "overview map of NY 448" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
  4. Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book, 1930–31 and 1931–32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930–31 edition shows New York state routes before the 1930 renumbering
  5. "Road Plan Opposed in Tarrytown Area". The New York Times. January 13, 1966. p. 17.
  6. Folsom, Merrill (April 10, 1966). "Neighbors Score New Rte. 117 Plan". The New York Times. p. 63.
  7. "Court Voids Ruling On Realigned Road In Pocantico Hills". The New York Times. July 8, 1967. p. 22.
  8. Folsom, Merrill (July 10, 1966). "Rockefeller Neighbors Back Plan For Road Through Estate Area". The New York Times. p. 71.
  9. "Rte. 117 Plan Denied By Rockefeller Aide". The New York Times. June 21, 1966. p. 20.
  10. Folsom, Merrill (June 29, 1966). "Pocantico Hills Highway is Assailed in Court". The New York Times. p. 36.
  11. "Trial Ordered; State Loses Attempt to Dismiss Suit to Block Shift of 117". The Hastings News. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. August 25, 1966. p. 1.
  12. Quirk, Dantia (July 13, 1967). "Rte. 117 Winners: 'We Won Because We Were Right'". The Hastings News. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. p. 1.
  13. New York (Map) (1969–70 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1968.
  14. State of New York Department of Transportation (January 1, 1970). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State (PDF). Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  15. New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map) (1972 ed.). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1972.
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