The Battery Park Underpass was the second section of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

's Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive

Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive

The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...

 to be completed, opening to the public in April 1951. It runs underneath Battery Park, connecting the West Side Highway

West Side Highway

The West Side Highway is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan. It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway, built between 1929 and 1951, which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of...

 to the South Street Viaduct with two lanes of traffic in each direction.

The project was completed shortly after the opening of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel

Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel

Interstate 478s entire length consists of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and its approaches. Its south end is at Interstate 278, and its north end is at NY 9A ....

 and provides direct access between the tunnel and the FDR Drive. In 2005, during the reconstruction of Route 9A, the roof of the Battery Park Underpass was extended to the north by about 80 feet to provide a U-turn lane and amenities for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Plans for extension

• In 1971, it was suggested that the South Street Viaduct be turned into a tunnel, essentially extending the underpass north to the Brooklyn Bridge
  Brooklyn Bridge
  The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
  
  
• In 2002, the Downtown Alliance, the local Business improvement district
  Business improvement district
  A business improvement district is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. Grant funds acquired by the city for special programs and/or incentives such as tax abatements can be made available to assist...
  
  , called for a 350-foot (105 m) extension to the underpass to create a plaza in front of the Battery Maritime Building. The estimated cost was $70 million.
• In 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
  Michael Bloomberg
  Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
  
  also called for an extension of the underpass near the Battery Maritime Building as part of a plan to rehabilitate the South Street Viaduct.

External links

• FDR at NYCRoads.com