U.S. Route 209
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|||||||||||||
| U.S. Route 209 | |||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
| Length: | 211.74 mi[1][2] (340.76 km) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1926[3] | ||||||||||||
| South end: |  PA 147 in Millersburg, PA |
||||||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 I-81 near Tremont, PA  I-476 / Penna. Tpk. near Weissport, PA I-80 in Stroudsburg, PA US 6 in Milford, PA I-84 in Matamoras, PA US 6 in Port Jervis, NY NY 17 near Wurtsboro, NY  US 44 / NY 55 near Kerhonkson, NY |
||||||||||||
| North end: |   US 9W / NY 199 in Ulster, NY |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
U.S. Route 209 is a 211.74-mile (340.76 km) long U.S. highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of U.S. Route 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, making the connection via U.S. Route 9W instead. The southern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 147 in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. The northern terminus is at US 9W north of Kingston in Ulster, New York, where the road continues east as New York State Route 199. US 209 is one of the original highways in the 1926 U.S. Highway System plan.
In Pennsylvania, the highway travels through the length of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. For part of its route in New York, US 209 runs alongside the defunct Delaware and Hudson Canal, which ran from Port Jervis to Kingston.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Route description
| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 150.60[1] | 242.37 |
| NY | 61.14[2] | 98.40 |
| Total | 211.74 | 340.76 |
Although signed as a north-south route in both states for its entire length, 209 actually runs closer to east-west along its southern sections in Pennsylvania, only gently trending northward. Only at Stroudsburg does it begin to turn more to the north as it begins to follow the Delaware River. In New York it runs almost due northeast for its entire length.
Much of the highway in both states is a two-lane road, running through narrow mountain valleys, but there are expressway portions. In Pennsylvania, one near Stroudsburg connects concurrencies with PA 33 and Interstate 80; in New York, the north end is an expressway, the remnants of a failed project to make the whole state portion one.[citation needed]
[edit] Pennsylvania
From Millersburg, 209 runs alongside the Berry Mountain ridge into Schuylkill County, finally climbing a valley headwall near Tower City to intersect Interstate 81 on the other side, then continue on to Tremont. Beyond that, the generally straight route starts to curve a little more frequently into Pottsville, after which it follows the upper Schuylkill as it heads into lightly populated coal mining regions such as Port Carbon, Cumbola, New Philadelphia, and Middleport on its way to Tamaqua.
Several miles beyond, it crosses into Carbon County, where it nestles between Nesquehoning and Pisgah mountains until it finally turns slightly to the north just before Nesquehoning. From there it follows the Nesquehoning Creek valley down to the Lehigh River, which 209 follows southeasterly through Jim Thorpe to Lehighton, the largest community along the route so far. At the south end of the town, it crosses the river and resumes its north-trending eastward course, which brings it presently to an interchange at Interstate 476, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's northeast extension.
Once again, there are no major settlements along 209 as it heads through isolated valleys, this time with more agricultural use evident, into Monroe County and eventually to its absorption into Route 33. Business 209 leaves the road at Sciota for travelers wishing to bypass the expressway.
At the next exit, 209 takes its own short branch of expressway several miles to I-80 just outside Stroudsburg. It stays with the interstate through the city and neighboring East Stroudsburg, leaving to the north at one of the last exits before the state line.
From this point on, 209 runs much more northerly, reconnecting with Business 209 after several miles and taking its more firmly northeast bearing to eventually run along the Delaware River shortly after entering Pike County, its last in the state. This 20-mile (32 km) segment provides access to New Jersey via toll bridges at Dingman's Bridge and Milford Crossing, where US 206 comes to its northern end. Just beyond the latter bridge, the road reaches the eponymous community, where US 6 joins it.
The two highways eventually start to run alongside Interstate 84, and development picks up as they approach Matamoras, the easternmost town in the state. After crossing under the interstate at its final Pennsylvania interchange, they form the borough's Main Street and cross into New York via the Mid-Delaware Bridge.
[edit] New York
6 and 209 remain concurrent as they enter Port Jervis, but after less than a mile 209 strikes out to the northeast again on its own. After leaving the city, it enters the valley between the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskill Plateau to its west, following the Neversink River until crossing it just prior to the hamlet of Cuddebackville. While the scenery is often spectacular, the settlements along the road are few, with only one blinker between Port Jervis and the Sullivan County line. At Wurtsboro, shortly after the NY 17 (future Interstate 86) interchange, the first light is finally reached.
The road follows along some of the old Delaware and Hudson Canal, a National Historic Landmark and passes Wurtsboro Airport, out of the county into Ulster County, and eventually reaches another village, more bustling Ellenville. Just past it, in the hamlet of Napanoch, it picks up its first concurrency partner since route 6, NY 55. These two routes run together as Rondout Creek crosses and eventually runs alongside the road.
At another small hamlet, Kerhonkson, 55 leaves to join US 44 at the latter's western terminus. 44 and 55 offer access ultimately to Poughkeepsie, 30 miles (48 km) to the east. The valley begins to widen as another road, NY 213, joins for a mile before leaving at a blinker in downtown Stone Ridge. To the north, the road eventually widens into four lanes, then four divided lanes as the freeway begins just short of NY 28 just west of Kingston, just inside the Catskill Park.
After turning to the east again, 209 crosses the New York State Thruway but does not have an exit. The eastbound highway remains an expressway to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. Route 209, however, does not make it that far, becoming NY 199 where it crosses over US 9W.
[edit] History
US 209 was assigned as part of the establishment of the U.S. Highway System in 1926. The route was initially an intrastate highway contained entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. It began at an intersection with U.S. Route 11 (now US 22 / US 322) in Clarks Ferry (east of Duncannon) and ended at U.S. Route 6 in Milford.[3] US 209 was extended northward to U.S. Route 9W in Kingston, New York ca. 1935[5][6] and truncated to Millersburg, Pennsylvania, by 1938.[7] The portion of US 209 in New York north of Port Jervis was previously designated as US 6 from 1926 to 1928 and U.S. Route 6N from 1928 to 1933.[8]
US 209 was realigned onto limited-access highways in two locations along its routing during the 1960s. In Kingston, New York, construction began on a highway bypassing downtown to the northwest in the early 1960s. The highway began at US 209 south of the city and ended at US 9W north of downtown Kingston.[9][10] It opened to traffic as a realignment of US 209 by 1964.[11] In Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, US 209 was moved onto a pair of new expressways south and east of the borough in the 1960s. US 209's former routing into Stroudsburg was redesignated as U.S. Route 209 Business.[12][13]
[edit] Major intersections
- Interstate 81 near Tremont, Pennsylvania
- Interstate 476/Pennsylvania Turnpike near Weissport, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Route 33 near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- Interstate 80 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- U.S. Route 206 near Milford, Pennsylvania
- U.S. Route 6 in Milford, Pennsylvania (southern terminus of concurrency)
- Interstate 84 in Matamoras, Pennsylvania
- U.S. Route 6 in Port Jervis, New York (northern terminus of concurrency)
- New York State Route 17 near Wurtsboro, New York
- U.S. Route 44/New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, New York
- New York State Route 28 in Kingston, New York
- U.S. Route 9W/New York State Route 199 in Lake Katrine, New York
[edit] References
- ^ a b Calculated using DeLorme Street Atlas USA software
- ^ a b "2007 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 25, 2008. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT_Traffic_Data_Report_2007.pdf. Retrieved on June 16, 2009.
- ^ a b United States Department of Agriculture. United States System of Highways [map]. (November 11, 1926)
- ^ Haufrecht, Herbert; Norman Studer and Norman Cazden (1982). Folk Songs of the Catskills. SUNY Press. ISBN 0873955803.
- ^ Gulf Refining Co.. Rand McNally Official Road Map of New Jersey [map]. (1934)
- ^ Sun Oil Company. Road Map & Historical Guide – New York [map]. Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. (1935)
- ^ Thibodeau, William A. (1938). The ALA Green Book (1938–39 ed.). Automobile Legal Association.
- ^ Richard F. Weingroff. "U.S. 6 – The Grand Army of the Republic Highway". Federal Highway Administration. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us6.htm. Retrieved on June 16, 2009.
- ^ Gulf. New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map [map]. Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. (1960)
- ^ Sinclair. New York and Metropolitan New York [map]. Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. (1962)
- ^ United States Geological Survey. Kingston West Quadrangle – New York – Ulster Co. [map], 1:24,000, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). (1980) Retrieved on June 16, 2009.
- ^ Pennsylvania Department of Highways. Official Map of Pennsylvania [map]. (1960) Retrieved on June 15, 2009.
- ^ Pennsylvania Department of Highways. Official Map of Pennsylvania [map]. (1970) Retrieved on June 15, 2009.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: U.S. Route 209 |
