New York State Thruway

Route information
	Maintained by New York State Thruway Authority
Length	496.00 mi (798.23 km)
Existed	1950s–present
Major junctions
West end	I-90 at Pennsylvania state line
	NY 400 in West Seneca; I-390 near Rochester; I-81 in Syracuse; I-88 near Schenectady; I-87 / I-90 in Guilderland; I-84 in Newburgh; NY 17 in Harriman; Garden State Parkway in Ramapo; Palisades Parkway in West Nyack
South end	I-87/Maj Deegan Expy in New York
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Highway system
	New York Highways; Interstate; US; State; Reference; Parkways;

The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway) is a limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of New York. Built in the 1950s by the State of New York in order to connect the major cities of New York, it is the longest toll road in the United States, with the 496.00 mile (798.23 km) mainline extending from the Pennsylvania/New York border in the west to Albany in the east, and the New York City borderline to the south. In 1958 it was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System as portions of Interstate 87, Interstate 287, Interstate 95, Interstate 90, Interstate 84, and Interstate 190. It is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA). The New York Thruway is considered one of the busiest highways in the country (according to the IBBTA, the Thruway is the nation's 4th most heavily traveled toll road^[2]).

Only three sections of the Thruway system are not part of the Interstate Highway System; these are designated with unsigned reference routes. One such section (route 982L) is the Garden State Parkway Connector, which branches from the Thruway mainline at exit 14A in Spring Valley to connect to the Garden State Parkway at the New Jersey state line near Montvale. Another section (route 915H) is located on the Thruway mainline within exit 24 in Albany, as the mainline is unsigned for a brief distance between the point where Interstate 87 departs the roadway and Interstate 90 enters it. The third section (route 912M) , the longest such section on the Thruway, is a six-mile (10 km) portion of the Berkshire Section, which has no Interstate designation between exit 21A on the Mainline in Selkirk and exit B1 in Schodack, where the Berkshire Section merges with I-90.

Of the 641.29 miles (1,032.06 km) in the Thruway system, 632.31 miles (98.6%) carries at least one Interstate designation. Interstate 90, which comprises the bulk of the mainline and the Berkshire Connector, runs for 365.55 miles (588.30 km) along the Thruway, including 17.70 miles (28.49 km) as part of the Berkshire Connector and 347.85 miles (559.81 km) on the mainline. Interstate 87 comprises the remaining 148.15 miles (238.42 km) of the mainline, including an 18.86-mile (30.35 km) long concurrency with Interstate 287 north of New York City. Interstate 84 covers another 71.46 miles (115.00 km), including the New York State Bridge Authority-maintained Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, while Interstate 287 spans 29.76 miles (including the 18.86 miles (30.35 km) shared with I-87), Interstate 190 for 21.24 miles (34.18 km) and Interstate 95 for 15.01 miles (24.16 km).^[1]

Route description

The New York State Thruway system is a collection of seven individual components across the state of New York, with the 496-mile (798 km) long mainline as the centerpiece. The system connects New York to four neighboring states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.

All highways maintained by the NYSTA lack the green reference markers that exist on all New York State Department of Transportation-maintained roads, as would be expected. In their place, NYSTA-controlled roadways use small, square tenth-mile markers with a white background and blue numbering. These markers differ from those used by NYSDOT on limited-access highways as state-maintained expressways typically feature tenth-mile signage similar to that used in the remainder of the United States while state routes utilize the reference markers, which display mileage information on their third row.

Except on the mainline, mile markers on NYSTA-maintained roads bear the Thruway logo on the top and an identifier for that highway, such as an I-84 shield for Interstate 84 and the letters "CW" for the Cross-Westchester Expressway (Interstate 287). Mainline mile markers feature only the word "mile" and the current milepost of the Thruway in relation to New York City.

Main line

The New York State Thruway begins as Interstate 90 at the Pennsylvania state line in Chautauqua County. It follows the shore lines of Lake Erie for 70 miles to Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo east of the city. U.S. Route 20 and New York State Route 5 both parallel the Thruway thru western New York from Exit 61 (Shortman Road) (RR 950D) in Ripley, New York to Exit 55 Lackawanna.

In Silver Creek, Routes 20 and 5 are now concurrent and still parallel Interstate 90. Interstate 90 enters Erie County, interchanging with several state and county roads. Exit 56 is for the New York State Route 179 (the Milestrip Expressway) in West Seneca. The Southern Expressway (US 219) merges into the Thruway at Exit 55. Interstate 90 enters Buffalo, where it interchanges with its first spur, Interstate 190 at Exit 53. Interstate 90 passes to the west of Walden Galleria after Exit 52W. Interstate 290 interchanges at Exit 50 in Amherst. Interstate 90 turns to the east and heads towards Syracuse. Route 90 now parallels New York State Route 33 and Route 5 again as it re-enters Erie County.

Across upstate New York, it roughly parallels the route of cross-state railroad tracks, which in turn follow the Erie Canal, passing north of Batavia, south of Rochester, north of Syracuse, and north of Utica before following the valley of the Mohawk River to Albany. Interstate 90 intersects with New York State Route 77 at Exits 48A/B in Genesee County. Interstate 90 enters Monroe County and interchanges with Interstate 490 at Exit 47. Interstate 90 continues eastward, edging closer to Rochester. Interstate 90 interchanges with an auxiliary route, Interstate 390 in Henrietta. South of Albany, it continues as the southern portion of Interstate 87, roughly paralleling the Hudson River to the river's west, passing near Kingston, New Paltz, and Newburgh. In Harriman, the major closed ticket system comes to an end at the Woodbury toll barrier, located on the mainline within exit 16 (New York State Route 17), a trumpet interchange. Along with the mainline barrier in Harriman, a separate toll plaza exists on the exit 16 ramp midway between the Thruway and NY 17 exit 131 (New York State Route 32). To distinguish between exit 16 and the Woodbury toll barrier, Thruway tickets list the NY 17 interchange as exit 16 and the Woodbury toll plaza as exit 15, although the actual exit 15 is situated almost 15 miles (24 km) to the south.

Northbound traffic on I-87 traveling through the Woodbury toll barrier is given a ticket stamped for exit 15 while travelers on southbound I-87 must surrender their ticket and pay the appropriate toll. Traffic heading south on I-87 and exiting at exit 16 must pay the appropriate toll for exit 16 at the Harriman toll plaza. Traffic heading north on I-87 and exiting at exit 16 must pay a fixed-rate toll at the Harriman plaza. Traffic entering the Thruway from NY 17 east must pay a fixed-rate toll at the Harriman barrier and, if traveling north, collect a discounted ticket stamped exit 16 at the Woodbury barrier. The ticket is identical to that given for exit 15 with the exception that the toll for exit 16 is subtracted from all of the prices.

The New York State Thruway (I-87) looking east from Nordkop Mountain in Suffern.

South of Harriman, the Thruway follows the valley of the Ramapo River until its junction near the New Jersey border with Interstate 287, which it joins, then cuts east across Rockland County. It connects with the New York segment of the Garden State Parkway then crosses the Hudson on the Tappan Zee Bridge. On the east side of the Hudson it continues south through Westchester County to the Bronx. The exit numbering system begins at the Bronx/Westchester County line with exit 1 and ends with exit 61 at the Pennsylvania/New York border.

File:Bridge w reflection2.jpg

Tappan Zee Bridge (I-87)

The highway employs both open-system and closed-system tolling. From the Bronx/Westchester County line to the New York State Route 17 exit, an open system (coin-drop) is used. From there northward, a closed system is employed where drivers must obtain tickets which show their point of entry and the cost of traveling from there to their desired point of exit. Upon exiting the Thruway, the ticket must be surrendered and the appropriate toll must be paid. Two separate closed systems are used on the Thruway mainline; one between NY 17 and Buffalo (with an inclusive spur route) and another from Buffalo to Exit 61.

Berkshire Section

The Berkshire Section is a 24.28-mile (39.07 km) long east-west spur connecting the Thruway mainline to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The connector is enclosed within the Mainline's major closed ticket system, so traveling between the mainline and the Berlshire Spur via exit 21A does not involve crossing a toll barrier, and the connector's exits up to the end of the closed system past at exit B3 are listed with the mainline exits on tickets for the major closed system.

The Berkshire Section begins at exit 21A off the Mainline Thruway in Selkirk, south of Albany and proceeds east over the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge over the Hudson River navigating through the southern Rensselaer County. The first Exit on the Berkshire Spur is Exit 1 in Schodack where Interstate 90 joins the Berkshire Section, following the spur east into Columbia County.

The Rensselaer County segment which runs east-west, the Berkshire Section in Columbia County takes on a northwest-southeast alignment as the roadway heads towards Exit B2 in East Chatham which is the northern terminus of the Taconic State Parkway. Two miles to the southeast is the Canaan toll barrier, which is the end of the Thruway ticket system. The last exit on the Berkshire Section is Exit B3 New York State Route 22 near the Massachusetts state line, where the Thruway connects to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Cross-Westchester Expressway

In 1990, the State Legislature directed the Authority to purchase the Cross-Westchester Expressway (Interstate 287) from the State, as a toll-free component of the Thruway system for $20 million. The Cross-Westchester begins at Interstate 87 Exit 8 in Elmsford, where I-287 splits from the Thruway mainline, and travels east across Westchester County to Interstate 95, with connections to both the New England Thruway & Connecticut Turnpike at exit 12 in Rye.

Garden State Parkway Connector

The Garden State Parkway Connector is a 2.40-mile (3.86 km) long road that connects the Thruway with the Garden State Parkway at the New Jersey state line at Pearl River via interchange 14A. The final 0.31 miles (0.50 km), south of the Schoolhouse Road — Chestnut Ridge exit, is the only part of the Thruway system that prohibits commercial vehicles as the Garden State Parkway prohibits commercial traffic north of exit 105.^[3] Although the connector itself is toll free, the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey is toll road.

Interstate 84

Similar to I-287, in 1991, the Authority was directed to assume the cost of operating and maintaining a 71-mile (114 km) segment of Interstate 84, which runs East-West from the Pennsylvania State Line at Port Jervis to the Connecticut State line at Brewster at an annual expense of approximately $14 million. Only one portion of I-84 in New York, the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge connecting Newburgh and Beacon, carries a toll. However, the bridge is operated and maintained by the New York State Bridge Authority, which collects all revenue from tolls on the structure.

As of 2009, there is now a direct connection between the Thruway mainline and Interstate 84. Improvements have brought both interchanges individually up to freeway standards, although at a loss to local traffic. The connection allows cars to travel between I-87 and both I-84 and NY-300 (via a split in the ramp). I-84 and NY-300 have their own interchange now.

At its October 2006 meeting, the Authority Board approved an action related to the elimination of the toll barriers at Black Rock and City Line in Buffalo. After accounting for the cost of toll collection, these barriers were expected to generate approximate $14.1 million. To allow for cessation of toll collections at these locations, the Authority accepted $14.1 million from the State Senate to replace the expected toll revenue for one year. The Board action also authorized providing one-year notice of the return of operational responsibilities of Interstate 84 to the NYSDOT as provided for in the Authority's agreement with the same. The return was the only option available to the Board that did not require legislation and was revenue neutral.^[4] The Grand Island Bridge tolls on I-190 remain intact.

New England Thruway

The New England Thruway (NET) is a 15.01-mile (24.16 km) section of Interstate 95 under the operation and maintenance of the New York State Thruway Authority. The New England Thruway begins at the Pelham Parkway interchange (Exit 8) in the Co-Op City section of the Bronx; continuing into Westchester County to the Connecticut state line where the New England Thruway connects to the Connecticut Turnpike.

Tolls are collected Northbound-only on the New England Thruway. A $1.75 cash toll (discounted to $1.66 with EZPass) is collected at the New Rochelle toll barrier, the only toll plaza on the New England Thruway.^[5]

Niagara Section

The first 21.24 miles (34.18 km) of Interstate 190 from I-90 in Buffalo to New York State Route 384 in Niagara Falls is known as the Niagara Section and is maintained by the Thruway Authority. North of NY 384, the expressway is named the Niagara Expressway and is maintained by the NYSDOT.

History

A toll superhighway connecting the major cities of New York State which would become part of a larger nationwide highway network was first proposed in 1949. The following year, the New York State Legislature passed the Thruway Authority Act creating the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), an independent public corporation, which would build and manage the turnpike. The project was to be financed through toll revenue bonds and self-liquidating by receipt of tolls, rents, concessions, and other income. The act also stipulated NYSTA adopt a hybrid system of tolls, with barrier tolls collected in urban areas, and long-distance tickets issued in rural areas.

The Thruway opened in sections in the early to mid 1950s. The first toll section, between Lowell and Rochester, opened on June 24, 1954. The last section of the 426 mile (681 km) mainline between Buffalo and the Bronx was completed on August 31, 1956. The total cost was $600 million, financed by the sale of $972 million in bonds. At the time, it was the longest toll road in the world.

The highway was unique in that original signage utilized dark blue backgrounds, the same color blue as displayed on the New York State flag. Over time, these signs were replaced with the FHWA-approved green backgrounds, as further described in the article Traffic sign.

After the New Jersey Turnpike was built in 1952, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New York State Thruway proposed a 13-mile (21 km) extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (now known as Interstate 95) that would go from its end (at U.S. Route 46 in Ridgefield Park, NJ at the time) up to West Nyack at the New York Thruway (Interstate 87). The portion through New Jersey was to be constructed and maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, while the portion in New York was to be built and maintained by the New York Thruway Authority. The purpose of this extension was to give motorists a “more direct bypass of the New York City area” to New England, by using the Tappan Zee Bridge. The extension was to parallel NY Route 303 and the CSX (Conrail) River Line, and have limited interchanges. It was to have an interchange with the Palisades Interstate Parkway and at Interstate 87/New York State Thruway in West Nyack. This project did not survive, though. By 1970, it became too expensive to buy right-of-way access, and community opposition was fierce. Therefore, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New York State Thruway Authority cancelled the project.^[6]

The ticket system originally began at the Spring Valley toll barrier but was later moved to exit 16 to make it possible to build simple toll-free interchanges in the stretch between the two. The toll plaza at Suffern was dismantled along with this change.^[7] The Spring Valley toll barrier remains today as a westbound-only commercial traffic toll.

Example of all-metric signage near Syracuse during the late 1970s.

In 1957, the mainline was extended 70 mi (112 km) west from Buffalo along Lake Erie to the Pennsylvania border. From 1957 to 1960, several spurs of the road were built to connect the road to turnpikes in the neighboring states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. In 1958, sections of the Thruway were given the current designations as part of the Interstate Highway System.

In 1964, the New York State Legislature officially renamed the Thruway in honor of former governor Thomas E. Dewey.^[8] The official designation is, however, rarely used in reference to the road.

In the late 1970s, the NYSTA experimented with all-metric signage in the Syracuse area. This experiment included all metric signing for Exits 35 and 36 and a couple of "Speed Limit 88 km/h" signs. Local folklore suggests this stretch of the Thruway was chosen for the experiment because of strong political opposition in the area to the metric conversion plans.

In August 1993, the NYSTA became the first agency to implement the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system. By December 1996 it was implemented at all toll barriers on the Thruway.

In 1997, the construction bond used to build the Thruway had been paid off, and all tolls along the Thruway were supposed to be abolished. However, the New York State Legislature voted to maintain the tolls. This action has engendered regional hostility within the state, particularly from the upstate counties which see the maintenance of the toll as a regional-based tax and that the tolls help maintain the economic disparity between the poor, rural upstate and the rich, urban downstate.

In 1999 NYSDOT, FHWA and the New York State Thruway Authority discussed redesignating the Berkshire Spur as Interstate 90 and redesignating the non-toll part of I-90 from Thruway Exit 24 to Interchange B-1 as Interstate 88. The section of the Thruway between Exit 25 and 24 would then be overlapping as both I-90 and I-88. This was never implemented.^[9]

In 2006, the Thruway Authority voted to end tolls on a six mile (10 km) section of the I-190 portion of the Thruway at the urging of many Buffalo area politicians. Both major candidates in the 2006 gubernatorial election, Democrat and eventual victor Eliot Spitzer and Republican John Faso, vowed to eliminate the tolls if elected. Tolls remain on the 496-mile (798 km) Thruway mainline, as well as on the North and South Grand Island Bridges connecting I-190 with the island.

On March 1, 2007, the Thruway Authority announced that wireless internet access (Wi-Fi) would be available at all service areas along the Thruway.^[10] Signage for the 27 service areas was updated to reflect this new feature.

Exit list

Mainline

County	Location	Mile^[1]	#	Destinations	Notes
Westchester	Yonkers	0.00	South end of Thruway New York City Line (Major Deegan Expressway)
		0.48	1	Hall Place, McLean Avenue
		1.42	2	Yonkers Avenue - Yonkers Raceway	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		1.77	3	Mile Square Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		2.18	4	Cross County Parkway
		2.70	5	NY 100 (Central Park Avenue) – White Plains	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4.00	6	Tuckahoe Road - Bronxville, Yonkers	Signed as exits 6E (east) and 6W (west) southbound
		5.14	6A	Stew Leonard Drive
		5.47	Yonkers toll barrier- $1.25 toll in both directions
	Dobbs Ferry	7.84	7	NY 9A – Ardsley	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Greenburgh	10.33	7A	Saw Mill River Parkway north to Taconic State Parkway	Northbound exit only
		10.33	7A	Saw Mill River Parkway south	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		11.31	8A	NY 119 / Saw Mill River Parkway north – Elmsford	Northbound exit is part of exit 8
			8	I-287 east (Cross Westchester Expressway) – White Plains, Rye
		South end of I-287 overlap
	Tarrytown	12.85	9	US 9 – Tarrytown
		13.07	Tappan Zee Bridge toll barrier- $5.00 toll (southbound only)
			Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River
Rockland	South Nyack		Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River
	South Nyack	16.75	10	US 9W – Nyack, South Nyack	No southbound exit
	Nyack	17.42	11	US 9W (NY 59) – Nyack, South Nyack
	Clarkstown	18.76	12	NY 303 – West Nyack
		20.94	13	Palisades Parkway – Bear Mountain; New Jersey	Signed as exits 13N (north) and 13S (south)
		22.80	14	NY 59 – Spring Valley, Nanuet
	Ramapo	23.53	14A	Garden State Parkway - New Jersey
		24.31	Spring Valley toll barrier (northbound commercial vehicles without EZ-Pass only)
		27.62	14B	Airmont Road (CR 89) – Airmont, Montebello
		North end of I-287 overlap
		30.17	15	I-287 south / Route 17 south to I-95 / N.J. Turnpike - New Jersey	South end of NY 17 overlap
		31.35	15A	NY 17 north / NY 59 – Sloatsburg, Suffern	North end of NY 17 overlap
Orange	Woodbury	45.03	Woodbury toll barrier (Closed portion of toll system / Southern Barrier)
	Woodbury	45.20	16	US 6 / NY 17 – Harriman
	Newburgh	60.10	17	NY 17K / NY 300 / I-84 – Newburgh, Middletown, Stewart International Airport
Ulster	New Paltz	76.01	18	NY 299 – New Paltz, Poughkeepsie
	Kingston	91.37	19	NY 28 (I-587) – Kingston, Rhinecliff Bridge
	Saugerties	101.25	20	NY 32 – Saugerties, Woodstock
Greene	Catskill	113.89	21	NY 23 – Cairo, Catskill (town)
Greene	New Baltimore	124.53	21B	US 9W to NY 81 – Coxsackie, Ravena
Albany	Coeymans	133.60	21A	To I-90 east (Mass Turnpike) - Boston
	Bethlehem	134.93	22	NY 144 to NY 396 – Selkirk
	Albany	141.92	23	I-787 / US 9W – Albany, Troy, Rensselaer
	Albany	148.15	24	I-87 north / I-90 east – Albany, Montreal
	Guilderland	153.83	25	I-890 / NY 7 / NY 146 – Schenectady
Schenectady	Rotterdam	158.82	25A	I-88 / NY 7 – Schenectady, Binghamton
Schenectady	Rotterdam	162.22	26	I-890 / NY 5 / NY 5S – Schenectady, Scotia
Montgomery	Amsterdam	173.59	27	NY 30 – Amsterdam
	Glen	182.17	28	NY 30A – Fultonville, Fonda
	Canajoharie	194.10	29	NY 10 – Canajoharie, Sharon Springs
Herkimer	Danube	210.62	29A	NY 169 – Little Falls, Dolgeville
Herkimer	Herkimer	219.70	30	NY 28 – Herkimer, Mohawk
Oneida	Utica	232.85	31	I-790 / NY 8 / NY 12 – Utica
	Westmoreland	243.37	32	NY 233 – Westmoreland, Rome
	Verona	252.71	33	NY 365 – Verona, Oneida, Rome
Madison	Lenox	261.5	34	NY 13 – Canastota, Chittenango, Oneida
Onondaga	Dewitt	276.58	34A	I-481 – Syracuse, Oswego, Chittenango
	East Syracuse	278.93	35	NY 298 – Syracuse, East Syracuse
	Mattydale	282.93	36	I-81 – Watertown, Binghamton
	Salina	283.79	37	Electronics Parkway - Liverpool, Syracuse
	Salina	285.95	38	CR 57 – Liverpool, Syracuse
	Van Buren, Geddes	289.53	39	I-690 / NY 690 – Syracuse, Fulton
Cayuga	Brutus	304.19	40	NY 34 – Weedsport, Auburn
Seneca	Tyre	320.41	41	NY 414 – Waterloo, Clyde
Ontario	Phelps	327.10	42	NY 14 – Geneva, Lyons
	Manchester	340.15	43	NY 21 – Manchester, Palmyra
	Farmington	347.13	44	NY 332 – Canandaigua (city), Victor
	Victor	350.99	45	I-490 – Rochester, Victor
Monroe	Henrietta	362.44	46	I-390 – Rochester, Corning
Genesee	Bergen	378.56	47	I-490 / NY 19 – LeRoy, Rochester
	Batavia	390.13	48	NY 98 – Batavia
	Pembroke	401.72	48A	NY 77 – Pembroke, Medina
Erie	Cheektowaga	417.27	49	NY 78 – Depew, Lockport
	Williamsville	419.69	Williamsville toll barrier
	Williamsville	420.34	50	I-290 – Niagara Falls
	Cheektowaga	420.70	50A	Cleveland Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		421.57	51	NY 33 – Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Buffalo	Signed as exits 51W (west) and 51E (east)
		423.19	52	Walden Avenue (NY 952Q) - Buffalo, Cheektowaga	Signed as exits 52W (west) and 52E (east)
		424.92	52A	William Street
		426.17	53	I-190 – Downtown Buffalo, Canada, Niagara Falls
	West Seneca	427.94	54	NY 400 / NY 16 – West Seneca, East Aurora
		429.47	55	US 219 – Orchard Park, Springville, Lackawanna, West Seneca
		430.51	Lackawanna toll barrier
	Lackawanna	432.45	56	NY 179 (Mile Strip Road) – Blasdell, Orchard Park
	Hamburg	436.22	57	NY 75 – Hamburg, East Aurora
	Evans	444.87	57A	Eden, Angola
Chautauqua	Hanover	455.54	58	US 20 / NY 5 – Silver Creek, Irving
	Dunkirk	467.74	59	NY 60 – Dunkirk, Fredonia
	Westfield	485.00	60	NY 394 – Westfield, Mayville
	Ripley	494.51	Ripley toll barrier
		494.92	61	Shortman Road (NY 950D) - Ripley
		496.00	West end of Thruway