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Data published by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) under its Traffic Data Viewer show that the busiest thoroughfares include Interstates 95, 684, 287 and 84, along with the Hutchinson River Parkway, Sprain Brook Parkway, Saw Mill River Parkway and Bronx River Parkway.
The data, which date to 2012, are from a metric called Average Daily Traffic. The busiest highways rank in the upper section of volume, which is from 75,000 to 300,000. Areas that reached the six-digit mark include the Tappan Zee Bridge at 134,098, two sections of I-287 that went above 150,000 (sections in Port Chester and Greenburgh), sections of I-95 in Pelham and New Rochelle that went above 120,000, and a section of the Bronx River Parkway in Yonkers that was also above 120,000.
Other roadways have brief stretches with high volume. These include a stretch of the Cross County Parkway in Mount Vernon, which reached nearly 120,000; a stretch of I-84 in eastern Southeast, which reached nearly 77,000; a portion of I-684 in North Salem that reaches more than 75,000; a section of I-684 in Lewisboro and Bedford that gets to nearly 79,000; and a section of the Taconic State Parkway in New Castle and Yorktown that goes beyond 77,000.
Generally, heavily used southern Westchester roadway sections have higher average volumes than equivalents in northern Westchester and Putnam, with 6-digit data considerably more frequent. The highest numbers for busy roadway stretches in northern Westchester and Putnam are in the mid to upper five digits.
Gina DiSarro, Public Information Officer for the DOT's Region 8, discussed what it does for maintenance and safety of more heavily used roads.
"Safety is our No. 1 priority for all of our roads," she noted. "Through Gov. Cuomo’s Drivers' First initiative, our goal is to minimize disruptions to travelers for any maintenance or repair work."
She added, "On high volume roadways, that means limiting work and lane closures during peak commuting times, and performing work on nights and weekends when possible. For example, last year, we employed innovative construction methods on two bridge projects in the Lower Hudson Valley, which dramatically shortened construction time and disruption to motorists."
DiSarro sent links to DOT press releases announcing a "Slide" construction method for I-84 in Southeast, which is meant to limit delays, and of a 2013 completion of bridge deck work for a section of the Hutchinson River Parkway that is in Pelham Manor.
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