The eastbound Gowanus makes it's way up the hill to connect with the Gowanus viaduct, which runs from 65th Street in Bay Ridge to Red Hook, Brooklyn.



Another view of the eastbound ramp to the viaduct.  This picture was taken at 65th Street in Bay Ridge.



This picture was taken at 61st Street and 3rd Avenue.  Here, we see that the westbound spur of the Gowanus Expressway flies-over the Belt Parkway interchange.

According to TBTA plans, "beginning at Ovington Avenue, the connections to the Cross-Brooklyn expressway would climb from the depressed approaches and pass over the intersection of 7th Avenue and 65th Street."  (source: nycroads.com)

The Cross-Brooklyn viaduct may have shared similar characteristics to the Gowanus viaduct shown in this picture, had it been built.



A complex set of ramps and merges are present at the current Gowanus/Belt Parkway interchange.  The ramp in the forefront of the picture leads down from the eastbound Gowanus to 3rd Avenue.  The eastbound Gowanus consists of  the second tier, as it will later merge with the eastbound Belt Parkway.  The westbound Gowanus expressway consists of the third tier of this complex viaduct.

No doubt the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway viaduct and interchanges would have been as complex.  I would venture a guess that Moses would have wanted a connection with the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway and the westbound Gowanus Expressway, so that motorists would have the option to head geographically east into Brooklyn utilizing the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway.  Using the same rationale, Moses may have also wanted a connection from the westbound Cross-Brooklyn to the eastbound Gowanus.  This would have been interesting for a number of reasons:

• The Cross-Brooklyn Expressway would have been a "true" east-west route.  "True" meaning geographically true.  Although the Gowanus is signed as east and west in Brooklyn, geographically the highway runs north and south through Brooklyn.  There has been much debate as to "redirect" the route markers, but so far these debates have not made it past the talking stages.  Here is where it would have become interesting, and confusing: a westbound Cross-Brooklyn motorist would have the option of going "west" on the Gowanus, which would take that person to Staten Island.  A westbound Cross-Brooklyn motorist would also have the option of going "east" on the Gowanus, which would take that person to Queens and the Bronx.  The motorist had just finished driving west on the Cross-Brooklyn, now the signs say that the Gowanus is taking him east again!!  Now that would have been confusing!

• The Gowanus/Cross-Brooklyn interchange may have had to been larger than originally proposed.  According to the original designs, the interchange was to allow access from the eastbound Gowanus to the Cross-Brooklyn.  Nowhere does it talk about possible connections from the westbound Cross-Brooklyn to the eastbound Gowanus, a connection from the westbound Cross-Brooklyn to the westbound Gowanus, or a eastbound Cross-Brooklyn connection from the westbound Gowanus.  The supporting interchange would have to be quite large, since one still has to factor in the current Gowanus/Belt Parkway merge and interchange.  There would probably have to be more building condemnation and land acquisition then had already been planned.

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