Storm King Highway

Infobox nrhp
name = Storm King Highway
nrhp_type =

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caption = View of Newburgh Bay and Pollepel Island from highway, 2006
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 25
lat_seconds = 03
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 73
long_minutes = 58
long_seconds = 24
long_direction = W
location = Cornwall and Highlands, NY
nearest_city = Newburgh
area = convert|18|acre|ha; 3.9 miles (6.4 km) in lengthcite web|last=Barry|first=Elise|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, Storm King Highway|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=11227|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation|date=1982-04-22|accessdate=2008-09-27]
built = 1916
architect = John L. Hayes Construction Company, Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), builders
architecture =
designated =
added = 1982
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 82001229
mpsub = Hudson Highlands MRA
governing_body = PIPC, New York State Department of TransportationThe Storm King Highway is a three-mile (4.8 km) segment of NY 218 between Lee Road in the Town of Highlands at the south end and the Cornwall-on-Hudson village line in Orange County, New York, United States. It was built in 1916 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 in recognition of its accomplishment in civil engineering.

It is so named because it follows the west bank of the Hudson River through the Hudson Highlands to wind around the steep slopes of Storm King Mountain near its north end. Here it reaches heights of up to convert|420|ft|m above the water, with panoramic views of the river and surrounding mountains such as Breakneck Ridge and Bull Hill.

There are several small pullouts to allow drivers to stop and take in the view. When originally built, its purpose was as much to better connect Cornwall and Newburgh to its north with Highland Falls and West Point to its south as it was to allow motorists to take in the vistas. It took 22 miles (34 km) off that trip at the time and is used by commuters even today. However, the rocky slopes of Storm King are prone to landslides and as a result gates at either end are lowered to close it off in times of heavy precipitation.cite news|last=Randall|first=Michael|title=Storm King Highway not too storm-friendly|url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/NEWS/802060326|publisher=Ottaway Community Newspapers|work=Times-Herald Record|date=2008-02-06|accessdate=2008-09-28]

Road

The highway is a two-lane convert|22|ft|m|adj=on wide asphalt-paved road with double-yellow lines forbidding passing along its entire convert|21000|ft|m|adj=on length. Its grade never exceeds 7%, and it is bounded along the river side with a rubblestone wall. No buildings of any type are located along the road, nor is there any intersection save some of the state park's trails at the designated trailhead. There are chainlink gates at either end.

Maintenance responsibilities are divided. The southern section is kept up by the New York State Department of Transportation as it is a state highway, while the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) takes care of the northern section as it runs through Storm King State Park.

History

Since the early days of settlement, the Highlands had long been a major obstacle to travel between Cornwall and the communities to its south. In 1913 state highway commissioner Gordon Reel began to think seriously about building a new road to connect them after heavy lobbying by local business and community groups. The idea he ultimately decided on, a road along the side of Storm King Mountain, was estimated to cost $400,000cite book|title=1915 Annual Report|author= New York State Department of Economy and Efficiency|year=1915|publisher=State of New York|location=Albany, NY|pages=254|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zHpMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=%22Storm+King+Highway%22&source=web&ots=Gnsp7iC4-D&sig=-aDX4o5LWC1Eq7Iw8EXoz_BzCIY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result] ($formatprice|inflation|US|400000|1913|2008|r=1 in 2008 dollarsInflation-fn|US), far more than his department had funds available for, so the legislature had to make a special appropriation.After three years, during which surveyors sometimes had to rappel down the mountain's cliffs to mark the route, construction began in 1916. The original idea to build a tunnel was changed to a road cut into the side as lighting it would have been too expensive and it would have missed the most scenic aspects of the road. Accordingly, the specifications for the project were changed. The planned road was widened from convert|16|to|18|ft|m, with a three-foot (1 m) concrete gutter.

The difficulties of building one of New York's first public roads designed for automotive use were compounded by having to make sure that debris did not hamper the operations of the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Line, which ran along the river's edge below. Dislodged boulders sometimes blocked the tracks or landed on cars, damaging them and their contents. The first contractor hired for the job soon went broke; they were replaced by the John L. Hayes Company of Yonkers. Hayes, too, found the going tough, especially when U.S. entry into World War I dried up the labor supply. The PIPC soon stepped in and renegotiated the contract to account for the difficulties caused to Hayes by the unforeseen circumstance of war. It also blunted opposition to the road by developing the state park around it.cite book|title=The Hudson River Highlands|last=Dunwell|first=Francis|year=1991|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=0231070438|pages=179|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Nr90HdyyVs0C&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&dq=%22Storm+King+Highway%22&source=web&ots=_w8i0k1wkZ&sig=CK67TQfK4lMitprrreZQG65urss&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA179,M1|quote= Shortly after the road [to Bear Mountain] was completed, Stillman's son Ernest gave the PIPC 800 acres of riverfront land bordering five miles of highway, creating a Storm King section of the park ... To those who argued that the view of Storm King would be marred, the Park Commissioners countered that the highway would allow thousands of motorists to view the Highlands from Storm King's heights.]

When it was opened in 1922 it shortened the distance required to travel by automobile from Newburgh to West Point, which are 10 miles (16 km) apart as the crow flies, by 22 miles (34 km). In 1940 this distance was further cut by the four-lane US 9W, which travels west of Storm King and is sometimes also referred to as the Storm King Highway (Route 218 is likewise distinguished as Old Storm King Highway).cite web|title=Hiking Storm King|url=http://nynjctbotany.org/whudson/nystrmkn.html|accessdate=2008-09-28] It remains a well-used commuter route for employees of the United States Military Academy who live in Cornwall.Cite news|last=Hall|first=Wayne|title= Route 218 back in business|url=http://archive.recordonline.com/archive/2000/08/26/wh218.htm|publisher=Ottaway Community Newspapers|work=Times-Herald Record|date=2000-08-26|accessdate=2008-09-28|quote=Route 218, a popular shortcut to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, reopened yesterday at 1:45 p.m. for the evening rush after being closed for more than a year of repairs ... Hundreds of people use the road daily to get to work at West Point] They must use alternate routes when the gates are closed,cite news|last=Mackson|first=Oliver|title=Road open, but mountain stirs|url=http://archive.recordonline.com/archive/2001/02/02/omcolumn.htm|publisher=Ottaway Community Newspapers|work=Times-Herald Record|date=2001-02-02|accessdate=2008-09-28] as they were for over a year following 1999 forest fires on Storm King and its vicinity.

References