The road is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long and is a much used access to Yankee Stadium on its north side.

The road is one of the widest in the Bronx, until the Sheridan Avenue intersection, where the divided highway merges.

[1] The road passes a parking lot to the south and crosses under the Macombs Dam Bridge soon after.

After the intersection with Ruppert Place, East 161st passes the south side of Yankee Stadium.

Grand Concourse, a major thoroughfare in the Bronx intersects soon after, ending the divided highway system on East 161st Street.

The final, easternmost section begins at an intersection at Westchester Avenue and ends at Hewitt Place, a short connector.