WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER.. By John F. Bailey. July 29, 2009: Greg Krisloff, the liaison and spokesperson for the Department of Transportation for the ongoing Exit 8 project that White Plains commuters have been weathering the last three years reports that by next spring the cross-exit/entrance traffic flow pattern should be relieved when the new Exit 7 opens.
New Exit 7 Takes Shape at White Plains Eastern Gateway last week. View is looking east to the North Street Bridge over I-287.
Krisloff says the new Exit 7 will allow traffic westbound on I-287, desiring to exit to North White Plains via the Central Westchester Parkway will be able to shuttle off on their own private ramp connecting to the Central Westchester Parkway northbound.
The Exit 7 Connection — making its way under the Main Street Bridge. Ebersole Rink is at right of Picture.
This improvement will eliminate the current bottleneck resulting for decades which had traffic exiting to North White Plains via the Central Westchester Parkway crossing traffic wishing to enter I-287 westbound.
Krisloff remarks that traffic exiting White Plains via the new ramp (shown above) connecting into I-287 westbound will be two lanes, joined by a lane of traffic also entering from Westchester Avenue westbound, that will also have the option of moving onto the Cross Westchester Expressway. It is not clear exactly how the new Exit 7 will compatibilize with the Westchester Avenue traffic.
Reverse Angle of new Bloomingdale Road -Westchester Ave ramp feeding in to existing Westchester Avenue traffic.
Krisloff was asked how three lanes of traffic entering I-287 westbound, essentially merging into one lane would improve the situation. Krisloff said that with all three lanes merging into one, without cars crossing entering traffic to exit to the Central Westchester Parkway would considerably eliminate the bottleneck.
The three lanes-into-one-merge lane will continue to remain for rush hour outbound traffic on Westchester Avenue and Bloomingdale Road after the Exit 7 is completed. Krisloff said it was very important that signage for the new Exit 7 be explicit for traffic wishing to exit to the Central Westchester Parkway.
It may be that with the stage 2 of the Exit-8-7-North Street interchange, that the traffic exiting White Plains, merging onto I-287 westbound will be cut to two lanes, with downtown White Plains bound traffic “flown” into White Plains over a new ramp entered before the North Street overpass in center of conceptual North Street interchange, see below.
It would appear that the Martian countryside look of the eastern gateway into White Plains will continue for years considering the leisurely pace of construction on the Exit 8-7 interchange which was originally targeted to be completed the end of this year, with landscaping plans due in September.
The Krisloff Report on the New Exit 7, from Greg Krisloff of the DOT::
New Exit 7
While the deceleration lane will begin immediately east of the Westchester Ave. over I-287 Bridge, the new exit will actually be located just west of Westchester Avenue. This relocated interchange takes exiting WB I-287 traffic off the mainline roadway (under the Westchester Avenue over I-287 Bridge) en route to Central Westchester Parkway, while merging with two lanes of westbound traffic emanating from Bloomingdale Road and the Westchester Mall, and with the on-ramp at Underhill Avenue.
The merge results in a three-lane frontage road (Ramp I) which carries westbound traffic to Central Westchester Parkway and facilitates traffic entering the WB I-287 roadway, as well as those wishing to access local roads, such as Beech Street, near the pre-existing Exit 7 ramp.
This new frontage road will serve to eliminate much of the weaving and merging problems currently experienced by motorists between the entrance ramp past Westchester Avenue and the existing Exit 7 ramp.
Additional information about this and other aspects of this Project may be found on the Project’s website @
I287.Info
