West Side Elevated Highway, looking at West 23rd (left of building with clock) and West 22nd Street (straight ahead), ca. 1975

Constructed between 1929 and 1951, the West Side Elevated Highway, which ran along the west side waterfront from the Battery to 72nd Street, was out of date and largely obsolete by the time it was completed. Constructed, along with the elevated rail line, over 11th Avenue, the new infrastructure was a means to make this area safer. (Due to the dangers of trains and congestion at street level, 11th Avenue had long been called Death Avenue.)

The highway, as built, was too too narrow for trucks, the sharp turns on the exit and entrance ramps were dangerous, and the chemicals used for de-icing in the winter quickly deteriorated the structure. The soundness of the structure continued to worsen through the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973 a section near 14th Street collapsed and a car and truck fell through. The highway south of 46th street was closed after not being found structurally sound. The southernmost section remained standing, though in very bad shape, through the late 1980s, when it was replaced with a grade-level six-to-eight lane boulevard. The section from 57th to 72nd Street was rehabilitated and connects to the Henry Hudson Parkway north of 72nd Street.