Lake Welch Parkway

File:Lake Welch Parkway approaching Lake Welch Beach.jpg

The Lake Welch Parkway begins, heading north as a two-lane expressway, on the northbound side of Seven Lakes Drive. Although there is no direct connection with southbound Seven Lakes Drive, the section containing the interchange is widened to form a modified traffic circle, allowing U-turns on either side of this divider to permit access from both sides.

The next intersection north is with Johnsontown Road, a dirt road which parallels the Lake Welch Parkway, and used to run uninterrupted to Lake Welch, partially along the current parkway's right of way. It is now interrupted after {{cvt|3/4|mi}} at Pine Meadow Road, a service road for camp activities, at the next intersection with Lake Welch Parkway. A {{cvt|1/2|mi}} later, the parkway intersects with the St. John's Rd, which is paved;{{cite map |url=http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/quads/drg24/usgspreview/index.cfm?code=o41074b1 |title=Thiells Quadrangle – New York |publisher=United States Geological Survey |series=7.5 Minute Series (Topographic) |year=1955 |scale=1:24,000 |accessdate=March 31, 2011}} at the same point, the Long Path then crosses the parkway on its way up Nat House Mountain.{{cite map|url=http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.23972,-74.07489&z=15&t=K&marker0=41.23471%2C-74.08304%2CLake%20Welch%20Parkway&marker1=41.51730%2C-81.67540%2CDead%20Man's%20Curve|title=ACME Mapper 2.0 - Overview map of Lake Welch|accessdate=June 11, 2013|cartography=Mapnik}}{{Cite web|title = Waymarked Trails - Hiking|url = http://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/en/?zoom=17&lat=41.22304&lon=-74.09875&hill=0#|website = hiking.waymarkedtrails.org|accessdate = 2015-10-11}} There is a bridge {{cvt|2/3|mi}} later over County Route 106 (CR 106, Gate Hill Road and Kanawauke Rd, formerly NY 210,{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=Exxon |year=1979 |cartography=General Drafting}}). There is no interchange between the Parkway and CR 106, but St. John's Rd provides access to CR 106, Lake Welch, and St. John's-in-the-Wilderness Church.

About {{convert|1|mi|1}} northeast of the bridge, the parkway divides, forming a modified traffic circle with the access road to the Lake Welch recreation area (Beach and Picnic Area). The access road continues south to CR 106, forming another path between the two roads.[http://nysparks.com/parks/attachments/LakeWelchSiteMap.pdf Lake Welch Site Map (New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation)] Lake Welch Parkway continues as a two-lane undivided road for another mile to the vicinity of Tiorati Brook Road, where it widens into a divided highway once again. The parkway connects to the road by way of a Y-interchange with a northbound-to-southbound U-turn. North of Tiorati Brook Road (also known as Cedar Pond Road), the parkway is only open seasonally.

The median ends just east of the interchange with the Palisades Interstate Parkway (exit 16 of the Palisades). The first connection encountered of this interchange is the Palisades southbound exit ramp, which merges into Lake Welch Parkway southbound. This is followed by ramps to the Palisades southbound and from the Palisades northbound, where Lake Welch Parkway ends. It is only a partial interchange, lacking a connection between the Lake Welch Parkway northbound and the Palisades Parkway northbound. To access the Palisades Parkway northbound requires a 3-mile detour via Gate Hill Road.

Lake Welch Parkway was conceived in the early 1960s as a new {{convert|2.19|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} roadway through Harriman State Park. The new {{convert|24|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} road would connect Lake Welch Beach (which opened in 1962{{cite news|last=Folsom|first=Merrill|title=New State Beach Gets a Wet Start|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 16, 1962|page=16}}) to the Palisades Interstate Parkway via Tiorati Brook Road. The new roadway would be constructed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission with a {{convert|292|ft|m}} bridge over Tiorati Creek and two other smaller bridges along the right-of-way. The new parkway would temporarily terminate at Lake Welch Beach, where an extension down to Seven Lakes Drive would be constructed. Engineers estimated the first section of the Lake Welch Parkway to cost $4.13 million (1962 USD) to build, and contracts would be let in Albany on November 16, 1962.{{cite news|title=Bids Sought For Roadwork in Rockland|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MuZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nW0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4699,2436166&dq=lake+welch+parkway&hl=en|accessdate=June 11, 2013|newspaper=The Evening News|date=October 13, 1962|location=Newburgh, NY|page=13}}

Construction of the second segment between Seven Lakes Drive and Lake Welch Beach was announced in November 1967 with the letting of a contract to County Asphalt Incorporated, a firm based in Tarrytown. The contract was for $2,275,744 (1967 USD) and would construct the final {{convert|3.43|mi|km}} of Lake Welch Parkway. The firm won the contract as the lowest of four bidders. The extension would also be {{convert|24|ft|m}} wide beginning at the Sebago Circle along Seven Lakes Drive. In addition to the new right-of-way, an additional {{convert|0.84|mi|km}} of right-of-way would be used to access the extension with Lake Welch Beach. Also included a project was a bridge over then-NY 210 (now CR 106). The slated completion date of the project was December 3, 1969 and would be supervised by the New York State Department of Transportation and its engineer out of Poughkeepsie.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NhpgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tm0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2019,3297934&dq=lake+welch+parkway&hl=en |title=Lake Welch Parkway Work Due |work=The Evening News |location=Newburgh, NY |page=3B |date=November 15, 1967 |accessdate=March 29, 2013}}

Construction was completed nearly four years later, with the new Lake Welch Parkway opening to traffic on June 27, 1971, a little more than 9 years after the opening of Lake Welch Beach. The new parkway, {{convert|5.75|mi|km}} long, intended to relieve congestion along NY 210 in access to Lake Welch Beach, and would connect to the Palisades Interstate Parkway at exit 14A (current exit 16).{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8oFGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Vi8NAAAAIBAJ&dq=lake%20welch%20parkway&pg=5747%2C5078611 |title=Parkway Now Open |work=The Evening News |location=Newburgh, NY |page=1B |date=June 28, 1971 |accessdate=March 29, 2013}}

The entire route is in Harriman State Park, Rockland County.

{{NYinttop|unnum=yes|length_ref={{cite web |url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Volume%20Report%202011.pdf |title=2011 Traffic Volume Report for New York State |date=September 25, 2012 |format=PDF |pages=50–57 |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |accessdate=June 11, 2013}}{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=7+Lakes+Dr&daddr=Lake+Welch+Pkwy+to:Lake+Welch+Pkwy+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&geocode=FeLddAIdavuU-w%3BFaZBdQId3taV-w%3BFd5sdQIdzieW-w%3BFSJmdQIdrESW-w&mra=mi&mrsp=3&sz=17&sll=41.248886,-74.039065&sspn=0.005695,0.013937&ie=UTF8&ll=41.231993,-74.077892&spn=0.045571,0.111494&t=h&z=14 |title=overview map of Lake Welch Parkway |accessdate=March 31, 2011}}|nocty=yes|location=none|hatnote=off}}

{{NYint

|mile=0.00

|road={{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Seven Lakes}}

|notes=Modified roundabout; southern terminus}}

{{NYint

|mile=3.40

|road={{jct|state=NY|to1=yes|CR|106|county1=Rockland|name1=Kanawauke Road|location1=St. John's Church|location2=Welch Beach}}

|notes=At-grade intersection; access via St. Johns Road}}

{{NYint

|mile=5.10

|road={{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Tiorati Brook|dir1=west}}

|notes=Northbound access is via center median u-turn ramp; eastern terminus of Tiorati Brook Road}}

{{NYint

|mile=5.60

|road={{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Palisades|dir1=south}}

|notes=Northern terminus; exit 16 on Palisades Parkway}}

{{jctbtm}}

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{{Attached KML}}

{{commons category|Lake Welch Parkway}}

Category:Harriman State Park (New York)

Category:Transportation in Rockland County, New York

Category:Parkways in New York (state)