Planning continued for the northern Dutchess stretch, to be built after the war. With the enforced break in construction, and its new authority over the entire road, the commission began to look at ways to improve what had already been built, especially in light of the road's growing role as a regional artery. The Hawthorne Circle, where the Taconic, Saw Mill River Parkway and NY 100 intersected, was the major problem. It had become a magnet for accidents and congestion. A 1944 study recommended it be replaced with a three-level grade-separated interchange.