In the mid-1990s , NY 9A was extended south to the Battery Tunnel by way of 12th Avenue and two other streets the Elevated Highway had previously run atop of , West Street and 11th Avenue . Construction began in early 1996 on a project to convert the section of NY 9A south of 59th Street into the West Side Highway , a six-lane urban boulevard with a parkway-style median and decorative lightposts . The first of the project 's seven segments — between Clarkson and Horatio streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood — was completed in 1998 . Completion of the project was originally set for October 2001 ; however , it was delayed for years due to damage caused by the September 11 attacks . It was finished by 2014
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
New York State Route 9A