Interstate 287

Route information
Length	98.72 mi (158.87 km)
Major junctions
South end	I-95/NJTP in Edison Twp, NJ (continues as NJ 440)
Major intersections	US 1 in Edison, NJ I-78 in Bedminster, NJ I-80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ NJ 17 in Mahwah I-87/Thruway/NY 17 in Hillburn, NY PIP in Clarkstown, NY GSP Ext. in Chestnut Ridge, NY US 9 in Tarrytown, NY I-87/Thruway in Greenburgh, NY I-684 in Harrison, NY
East end	I-95/N.E. Thruway in Rye, NY

Interstate 287 (abbreviated I-287) is a major Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York. It is a partial Beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York. I-287 follows a roughly horseshoe-shaped route. It is the third-longest auxiliary Interstate Highway in the country; only Interstate 476 in Pennsylvania and Interstate 495 in Massachusetts are longer.

Originally, I-287 was long disjointed because of community opposition. The New York section effectively ended at Suffern, and the New Jersey section at U.S. Route 202 in Montville, only about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Interstate 80 interchange, with a gap in between. In 1988, construction began, and the missing section opened in November 1993.

Route description

Lengths

	mi	km
NJ	67.54	108.70
NY	31.18	50.18
Total	98.72	158.87

Although I-287 is an auxiliary route of Interstate 87, both of its termini are located at Interstate 95. It is the only three-digit interstate which goes through more states than its parent route; I-87 is an intrastate interstate.

New Jersey

I-287 in rock cuts in Passaic County, New Jersey.

In the state of New Jersey, much of I-287 parallels U.S. Route 202.

Beginning at the New York-New Jersey state line in Mahwah Township, it receives a North/South designation like its parent I-87 and begins its run south, cutting through hills and mountains. Between Mahwah Township and the Boro of Oakland/Boro of Franklin Lakes, the freeway has two lanes in each direction. South of Exit 58, the freeway has three lanes in each direction, and goes through a steep valley on a bridge over the Wanaque River. Due to the high elevations, the freeway (at some points) has an extra 4th lane to accommodate for slower automobile traffic.

Map of New Jersey

The freeway then intersects Interstate 80 (Bergen-Passaic Expressway) in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, and then accommodates up to at least 5 lanes in each direction. It continues further south, through Morristown (where the lanes are 3-4 in each direction) and eventually to Bedminster Township, where it intersects Interstate 78. At this point, I-287 then splits into a dualized roadway configuration. The roadway splits for about 3 miles (4.8 km), continuing into Bridgewater Township. At the interchange for U.S. 202-206, both roadways have exit ramps towards 202/206, and then the lanes merge into three lanes in each direction. The highway then curves southeast and no longer parallels U.S. 202, heading towards Perth Amboy. Once I-287 crosses the Raritan River between Exits 10 and 9 (heading south) it becomes the Middlesex Freeway and turns east until its terminus. I-287 ends at the interchange for the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) in Edison Township, New Jersey; however, the roadway continues as Route 440 towards Staten Island.

New York

Main articles: New York State Thruway and Cross-Westchester Expressway

I-287 sign at the end of the route at the I-287/I-95 intersection in Rye, NY

Working counter-clockwise, I-287 begins in Port Chester, New York at the New England Thruway (Interstate 95) with an East/West designation until the New Jersey State Line. It is also called the Cross-Westchester Expressway until the New York State Thruway merge. Once merged with the northbound Thruway (and northbound Interstate 87), it crosses the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River between Tarrytown and Nyack, and continues west to Suffern. It then leaves the Thruway (and Interstate 87) and crosses the New Jersey border.

Legally, the New York section of I-287 is defined as Interstate Route Connections 520 and 525 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.

History

I-287 was to continue past I-95 in Port Chester and was to cross Long Island Sound via the (unbuilt) Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge and absorb the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135). Then, I-287 was again to be extended into Jones Beach by merging with the Wantagh State Parkway in Merrick. These plans were dropped as a result of community opposition and environmental concerns. Evidence of this exists at the northern end of NY 135 at exit 14 (NY 25) where there is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange and the southern end at exit 1 where there is a non-conventional interchange with Merrick Road.

I-287's missing section between Montville and Suffern, NY was the source of a great deal of controversy dating back to 1965, and continuing until its opening in 1993. Property owners along the proposed route fought its completion as part of the freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually, a route was agreed upon and permits allowing construction to begin were issued in 1988. However, officials in Rockland County, New York, sued on November 19, 1993, hours before the highway's official ribbon-cutting, seeking to block its opening, claiming the incomplete interchange with the New York State Thruway was inadequate to handle the additional traffic. That interchange was not completed until January 1994, but the highway nevertheless opened as planned.

Future

Tappan Zee replacement

Due to the congestion along I-87/I-287 and the aging and decay of the over fifty-year old Tappan Zee Bridge, talks have begun regarding the possibility of replacing the bridge. A variety of transportation improvements are currently being considered, including a commuter rail system that would link the western shore of the Hudson River with Westchester County and New York City. Several alternatives are being considered to replace the bridge. Currently, the favored alternative is a cable-stayed span.

Rehabiltion in New Jersey

NJDOT started the Interstate 287 (Middlesex Freeway) Rehabilitation Project in August 2007 to resurface the pavement between Exit 5 in the Boro of South Plainfield and Interstate-95/New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township, which is used by about 150,000 vehicles daily. Some of the bridges/overpasses had deteriorated to such a state that they needed to be replaced. This project is scheduled to end in November 2009.

On September 17, 2009, NJDOT announced the start of another rehabilitation and repaving project from Exit 5 to the area of Exit 10 in Franklin Township. This project is expected to be finished by fall 2011.

A new crossing to Long Island?

In 2007, a private firm, Polimeni Associates, proposed to construct a 17-mile long tunnel called the Cross Sound Link. It would start at the junction with the Cross Westcher Expy & the New England Trwy in Rye and end at NY 135 and NY 25 in Syosset. Estimated to cost apprioxmiately $10 billion, it would feature three tubes: the outer tubes would be for vehicular traffic and the inner tube would be for mass transit. It is currently being determined if the new crossing would be feasible.

Miscellanea

New Jersey state line along Interstate 287 south

The entire New York section is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority, although only the section shared with I-87 is part of the mainline Thruway. The rest of the NY section is called the Cross-Westchester Expressway. No tolls exist on this portion, and signs mentioning the Thruway Authority are rare along its length. This arrangement was similar to that of Interstate 84 in New York, prior to October 30, 2006.

I-287 interchange with I-87 in Suffern, New York. The New Jersey state line is about halfway up the photo.

In New York, Thruway exits 8 and 8A and Cross-Westchester Expressway exit 1 are now combined in one interchange. Formerly, there were two separate interchanges: Thruway interchange 8, to the Cross-Westchester, and Cross-Westchester exit 1 (Saw Mill River Parkway to/from north only (use Thruway interchange 7A for to/from south), with access only to/from west (use interchange 3 for access to/from the east)). Due to the recent rebuilding of interchange 8, traffic from I-287 east that remains on the Thruway beyond the point where I-287 leaves it can exit at 8A, which leads to what appears to be a service road for the CWX, but ends up leading to the Saw Mill. However, to reach I-287 west from the Saw Mill south, one must merge with I-287 before merging with the Thruway (no 8A).

In New Jersey, I-287 is one of the most heavily-traveled freeways to be utilized by tractor-trailers (besides the Turnpike) from Mahwah Township, New Jersey and Suffern, New York (at Interstate 87/New York State Thruway) to the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) in Edison Township, New Jersey. This is due in part to the tractor-trailer restrictions on the Garden State Parkway.

Exit list

New Jersey

County	Location	#	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Roadway continues as Route 440 northbound
Middlesex	Edison Township		0.00	I-95/New Jersey Turnpike – Trenton, Philadelphia, Newark, New York City
		1A-B	0.93	US 1/CR 531 – Trenton, Newark	CR 531 South is accessible from Southbound traffic only
		2A-B	2.24	NJ 27 – Metuchen, New Brunswick	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		3	3.09	CR 501, New Durham Road – Edison, Metuchen	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	South Plainfield Boro	4	4.62	Durham Avenue – South Plainfield	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	South Plainfield Boro/Piscataway Township	5	5.88	CR 529, Stelton Road – Dunellen, Edison
	Piscataway Township	6	6.41	Washington Avenue – Piscataway, Dunellen	Northbound exit and entrance, southbound exit only
		7	7.27	South Randolphville Road – Piscataway, Middlesex
		8	8.47	Possumtown Road – Middlesex, Highland Park	Northbound exit and entrance
		8	8.47	Centennial Avenue - Middlesex, Highland Park	Southbound exit and entrance
		9	9.95	CR 622, River Road – Middlesex, New Brunswick
Somerset	Franklin Township	10	10.27	CR 527, Easton Avenue – New Brunswick, Somerset, South Bound Brook
		12	12.30	Weston Canal Road
	Bridgewater Township	13	13.50	NJ 28 – Somerville, Middlesex	Split into 13A/B northbound
		14A	14.24	US 22 east – New York City
		14B	14.35	US 22 west to US 202/US 206 south – Bridgewater	Northbound exit and entrance, southbound entrance only
		17	17.86	US 202/US 206 south to US 22 west – Somerville, Flemington	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Bedminster Township	21A-B	21.17	Interstate 78 – Easton, PA, New York City
		22A-B	22.21	US 202/US 206 – Pluckemin, Bedminster, Netcong
	Bernards Township	26A-B	26.48	CR 525, Mt. Airy Road – Basking Ridge, Liberty Corner, Bernardsville
		30A	29.94	North Maple Avenue – Basking Ridge
		30B		US 202
Morris	Morris Township	33	34.02	Harter Road – Jockey Hollow
	Town of Morristown	35	35.77 35.89	NJ 124, South Street, Madison Avenue – Morristown
		36	36.39 36.60	CR 510, Morris Avenue, Lafayette Avenue – Morristown	Split into 36A/B northbound
	Hanover Township	37	37.92 38.00	NJ 24 east to Interstate 78 – Springfield
		39	39.55	NJ 10 – Dover, Whippany
	Parsippany-Troy Hills Township	40	40.94	CR 511 – Parsippany
		41	42.02	Interstate 80 – Delaware Water Gap, New York City
		42	42.74	US 46, US 202 – Dover
		43	44.06	Intervale Road – Mountain Lakes
	Town of Boonton	44	44.95	Main Street – Boonton
		45	45.68	Wootton Street – Boonton
	Montville Township	47	47.11	US 202, Main Road – Montville, Lincoln Park
	Boro of Riverdale	52	53.14	NJ 23 – Butler, Wayne
		53	53.83	CR 511 ALT, Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike
Passaic	Boro of Wanaque	55	55.31	CR 511, CR 511 ALT, Ringwood Avenue
Bergen	Boro of Oakland	57	58.13	Skyline Drive, West Oakland Avenue
		58	58.86	US 202, Ramapo Valley Road – Oakland
	Boro of Oakland/Boro of Franklin Lakes	59	59.94	NJ 208 south – Franklin Lakes
	Mahwah Township	66	66.94	NJ 17 south – Mahwah	I-287/NJ 17 concurrency begins northbound, ends southbound

New York

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Rockland	Hillburn	0.00		New Jersey state line.	South end of NY 17 North end of NJ 17
		0.65	(15)	I-87/Thruway north / NY 17 north	North end of overlap with NY 17 West end of overlap with I-87
I-287 overlaps with the New York State Thruway for 19.1 miles (30.7 km) and uses Thruway exit numbers. See Thruway exit list (exits 15 to 8) for details.
Westchester	Greenburgh	19.78	(8)	I-87/Thruway south	East end of overlap with I-87
I-287 continues onto the Cross-Westchester Expressway

References

• 2005 Rand McNally Road Atlas
• "Missing Link of Interstate Opens, Despite Lawsuit." The New York Times, November 20, 1993. Metropolitan Desk, p. 26.

External links

• Interstate 287 in New Jersey Straight Line Diagram from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
• Highway Heaven

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