Interstate 90 in New York

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Template:Infobox Interstate/Intrastate In the U.S. state of New York, Interstate 90 spans 385.88 miles (621.01 km) from the Pennsylvania border at Ripley to the Massachusetts border at Canaan. Although most of the route is part of the tolled New York State Thruway, two segments, both serving major metropolitan areas, are toll-free expressways. The first, located in Western New York, is a toll-free portion of the Thruway serving downtown Buffalo, while the second, situated in the Capital District and not part of the Thruway system, links Albany and its eastern suburbs.

I-90 has a complete set of auxiliary Interstates within New York, with all but three located in either Buffalo or Rochester.

For most of its length in New York, I-90 runs parallel to the Erie Canal, U.S. Route 20 and the CSX railroad mainline that traverses the state.

Route description

New York State Thruway

Main article: New York State Thruway

West of Albany, I-90 in New York is designated along the mainline of the New York State Thruway. The Thruway begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Chautauqua County, following the shore of Lake Erie northeast and passes through the town of Cheektowaga, a large suburb of Buffalo directly east of the city. Two auxillary routes, Interstate 190 (leading to downtown Buffalo) and Interstate 290 (leading to Niagara Falls) connect with I-90 here. East of Erie County, the Thruway turns east and passes through the suburbs of several major cities in Upstate New York, generally following the path of the Erie Canal. It passes south of Rochester, north of Syracuse, north of Utica. Other auxillary Interstate Highways are used to connect directly to the city centers from I-90. I-490 and I-390 connect to Rochester, I-690 to Syracuse, and I-790 to Utica.

East of Utica, the Thruway follows the Mohawk Valley towards Schenectady (where I-890 serves to connect to the city center) and Albany. At Exit 24 in Albany, which is signed for I-87 north and I-90 east, the route designation of the Thruway changes from I-90 east to I-87 south. To continue on I-90 (and also to go to I-87 north), one must exit the Thruway here. Exit numbers and mile markers for I-90 reset after exiting.

Albany and Renseelaer counties

Berkshire Connector

Main article: New York State Thruway

In the town of Schodack, the non-Thruway section of I-90 ends at the Berkshire Connector at Exit B1. I-90 continues southeast along the Connector through Columbia County before crossing into Massachusetts and becoming the Massachusetts Turnpike.

History

Main article: New York State Thruway

The east-west corridor I-90 follows across New York has always been major, followed by the Genesee Trail (1790s), Erie Canal (1825), New York Central Railroad (1853), and later the Yellowstone Trail (1912), which became US 20 and NY 5. It was planned as part of a nationwide toll road system as early as 1938.[1] Exactly which cities would be served changed over the years, but it was the state of New York that made the decision in 1942, when they passed a law for the construction of a New York City-Albany-Buffalo-Pennsylvania "thruway". This highway, passing Utica, Syracuse, and Rochester on its path between Albany and Buffalo, would provide construction jobs in the post-World War II period.[2] The Berkshire Thruway, a branch east from near Albany to Massachusetts, was authorized in 1944, completing the east-west route across the state.[citation needed] However, construction, which began in 1946, proceeded very slowly, with only one four-mile portion open by 1950, when a law created the New York State Thruway Authority to operate the route as a toll road. Construction then progressed much more rapidly, especially after 1954, when the authority was allowed to issue bonds not backed by the state (thus having higher interest rates).[3] The roadway was completed between Buffalo and Albany in 1954,[4] to New York City in 1956,[5] to Pennsylvania in 1957,[6] and to Massachusetts in 1959.[7]

In the meantime, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act was enacted in 1956, promising a toll-free network of Interstate Highways throughout the nation. The Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) commissioner soon announced that the toll road met all federal Interstate standards,[8] and in August 1957 the entire mainline of the Thruway was incorporated into the system as part of Interstates 87 and 90. Most of the connecting Massachusetts Turnpike was also included, but a more northerly alignment, avoiding the Berkshire Thruway, was proposed by the states of New York and Massachusetts for I-90 through Albany past Pittsfield to East Lee, Massachusetts.[9] This alignment would be about 30% shorter than the all-toll alignment, and would provide relief to the four-lane Castleton Bridge on the Berkshire Thruway, which had been built narrower than the rest of the system because of the planned parallel alternate.[10] The BPR objected to the duplication, which would cost over $90 million, and refused to approve this alignment.[11] The eventual route ran southeast from Albany to the Berkshire Thruway at the Nassau interchange, providing Albany with an alternate route and additional bridge, but not offering any savings in distance, and creating a "toll trap" for drivers accessing the Taconic State Parkway from Albany.[12]

Construction on the route of I-90 through Albany began in the mid-1960s,[citation needed] with both ends at existing Thruway interchanges: exit 24, which crossed the Adirondack Northway (I-87) at a cloverleaf interchange and connected to Washington Avenue in western Albany, and exit B1, which connected to US 9 near Nassau.[13] I-90 was completed in the mid-1970s.[citation needed] The Northway cloverleaf was rebuilt in the 1980s.[citation needed]

Exit list

For exits west of Albany, see New York State Thruway (exits 61 to 24).
County Location Mile[14] # Destinations Notes
Albany Albany 0.00

I-87 south / New York Thruway south – New York, Boston 		East end of Thruway (mainline) overlap; west end of I-87 overlap
0.25 1S
To US 20 (Western Avenue)
0.40 1N
I-87 north – Albany International Airport, Saratoga, Montreal 		East end of I-87 overlap
1.10 2 Washington Avenue, Fuller Road - UAlbany
2.04 3 State Offices
2.36 4 NY 85 – Slingerlands, Voorheesville Eastern terminus of NY 85
3.38 5 Everett Road
4.00 5A Corporate Woods Boulevard Formerly planned for I-687
5.51 6 US 9 – Arbor Hill, Loudonville
6.36 6A I-787 – Albany, Troy
Rensselaer Rensselaer 7.15 7 Washington Avenue - Rensselaer Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
North Greenbush 7.95 8 NY 43 – Defreestville Western terminus of NY 43
East Greenbush 9.68 9 US 4 – East Greenbush, Rensselaer, Troy
Schodack 13.32 10 Miller Road - Schodack Center, East Greenbush
14.74 11 US 9 / US 20 – East Greenbush, Nassau Signed as exits 11W (north/west) and 11E (south/east) eastbound
19.80 12 US 9 – Hudson
20.18

New York Thruway west to I-87 – New York, Buffalo 		West end of Thruway (Berkshire Connector) overlap
For exits east of Rensselaer County, see New York State Thruway (exits B1 to B3).

See also

References

  1. ^ Bureau of Public Roads, Location of Routes Selected for Study, 1938
  2. ^ Statement by Assemblyman Moffat and Senator Hampton Relative to the Establishment of a State Thruway System, March 13, 1942, New York Legislative Document, 1942, v. 15 no. 80-82, p. 153
  3. ^ William Kaszynski, The American Highway: The History and Culture of Roads in the United States, McFarland & Company, 2000, ISBN 0786408227, pp. 141-142
  4. ^ Warren Weaver Jr., New York Times, More of Thruway Opened by Dewey, October 27, 1954, p. 31
  5. ^ Joseph C. Ingraham, New York Times, Thruway Opening Final Link Friday, August 27, 1956, p. 21
  6. ^ New York Times, The Thruway Becomes the Longest Toll Road, December 15, 1957, p. 159
  7. ^ Joseph C. Ingraham, New York Times, Boston to Chicago, May 24, 1959, p. XX1
  8. ^ Bret Pierce, New York Times, Thruway Called a Model Project, September 19, 1956, p. 39
  9. ^ Institute of Traffic Engineers, Traffic Engineering, volume 28
  10. ^ Highway Cost Estimates: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Public Works, 1958, p. 173
  11. ^ U.S. Congress, Miscellaneous Highway Legislation, 1961, p. 112
  12. ^ New York Times, Rockefeller Urged to Veto Road Link, March 30, 1964, p. 25
  13. ^ Rand McNally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico, 1964
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference dot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Interstate 90
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