NY 119 begins at an intersection with US 9 in the village of Tarrytown, near an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-87 and I-287). The route heads east, following the four-lane White Plains Road through a mostly residential area of the village. At the village line, the highway widens to six lanes ahead of a more commercialized area of the town of Greenburgh. NY 119 continues through this area to the western edge of the village of Elmsford, where it meets I-87 and I-287 at an interchange just east of where the two Interstate Highways split. NY 119 continues into Elmsford, becoming Main Street and narrowing to four lanes as it connects to the Saw Mill River Parkway at an interchange just west of the village center.[3]
The route heads across Elmsford on a northwest–southeast alignment, passing several densely populated blocks of homes and meeting NY 9A at Central Avenue (also known as Saw Mill River Road) before it passes under the Sprain Brook Parkway at the eastern edge of the village. Outside of Elmsford, NY 119 becomes Tarrytown Road as it maintains a southeasterly alignment through the rest of the commercialized town of Greenburgh. It roughly parallels I-287 to a junction with NY 100 near the White Plains city line. NY 100 turns east here, following NY 119 for the next 0.75 miles (1.21 km). Along this stretch, the highway splits to become a four-lane divided highway.[3]
NY 100 leaves NY 119 just inside the White Plains city limits at Central Avenue; however, NY 119 continues on, paralleling the Bronx River for four blocks to a partial interchange with the Bronx River Parkway. At this point, NY 119 splits to follow a one-way couplet through downtown White Plains.[3] Eastbound NY 119 is routed along Main Street and is maintained by the city of White Plains, while westbound NY 119 is routed on Hamilton Avenue and is maintained by Westchester County as the unsigned County Route 52 (CR 52).[4] The couplet and the route end at junctions with NY 22 (Post Road) on the eastern edge of the downtown district.[1][3] NY 119 connects to I-287 and NY 127 at its eastern terminus via the 0.4-mile (0.6 km), unsigned CR 71 (known locally as Westchester Avenue).[4] The portion of the route west of the one-way couplet in White Plains is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).[5]
History
NY 119 was established as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York and originally ran 13 miles (21 km) from Tarrytown through White Plains to Port Chester.[2] The old route east of White Plains utilized Westchester Avenue, which is now designated as CR 62 between NY 127 and NY 120 and as NY 120A east of NY 120.[6] Originally, NY 120 continued south past Westchester Avenue to Rye, as it does today. It was realigned c. 1939 to follow Westchester Avenue east to Port Chester, creating an overlap with NY 119. NY 120's former alignment to Rye became NY 119A.[7][8]
In early 1961, the Cross-Westchester Expressway (I-287) was opened to traffic, utilizing the Westchester Avenue corridor from White Plains to just west of Port Chester.[9] Westchester Avenue itself was split into two one-way highways located on both sides of the new freeway, essentially converting Westchester Avenue into a pair of service roads. NY 119 was moved onto both directions of the reconfigured Westchester Avenue and truncated to end at Purchase Street (NY 120) following the opening of the expressway.[10][11] It was cut back to the junction of I-287 and NY 127 by the following year[12] and to its current eastern terminus in White Plains in the 1970s.[13][14]
NY 119A was a short spur off of NY 119 connecting US 1 in Rye to NY 119 and NY 120 (now NY 120A) near Rye Brook. The route was assigned c. 1939[7][8] and became part of a realigned NY 120 in October 1960.[15]
^ abAutomobile 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 prior to the 1930 renumbering
^ abCounty and State Roads and Parks(PDF) (Map). Westchester County Department of Planning. July 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway / US 9 in Tarrytown
Saw Mill River Parkway in Elmsford
NY 100 / Bronx River Parkway in White Plains
NY 22 in White Plains
