New York State Thruway

Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : New York State Thruway

---

---

 

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-mile (793 km) mainline extending from the Pennsylvania/New York State border in the west to the Bronx in the east. In 1958 it was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System as portions of Interstate 87, Interstate 287, Interstate 90, Interstate 84, and Interstate 190. It is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority.

Description

From west to east, the Thruway begins as Interstate 90 along Lake Erie on the Pennsylvania border in Chautauqua County. It follows the lake shore northeast and passes along the eastern side of Buffalo. Across northern New York, it roughly parallels the route of 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.

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. South of Harriman, it 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. Exit numbers start at Exit 1 at the Bronx/Westchester County line and end at Exit 61 at the Pennsylvania/New York border.

The highway employs both open-system and closed-system tolling. From the Bronx/Westchester County line to the New York State Highway 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 and the appropriate toll must be paid. Two separate closed systems are used — one between NY 17 and Buffalo (with an inclusive spur route) and another from Buffalo to Exit 61.

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

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. The official designation is, however, rarely used in reference to the road.

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.

On June 28 and June 29, 2006, the New York State Thruway closed a 120.3 mile stretch of the road from Exit 25A (Schenectady, I-88) to Exit 34A (East Syracuse, I-481) due to major flooding on the road.

Interchanges and toll barriers

Mainline

Interchanges from beginning (southeast) to end (northwest)

Mile	Exit	Road	Destination	Notes
End Thruway. Interstate 87 continues south into New York City as Major Deegan Expressway.
0.48	1	Hall Place, McLean Avenue	Yonkers	Hall Place, northbound; McLean Avenue, southbound.
1.42	2	Yonkers Avenue	Yonkers	Northbound Exit/ Southbound Entrance.
1.77	3	Mile Square Road	Yonkers	Northbound Exit/ Southbound Entrance.
2.18	4	Cross County Parkway	Tibbetts Brook Park, Mount Vernon	No trucks.
2.70	5	NY 100 - Central Park Avenue	White Plains	Northbound Exit & Entrance.
4	6	Tuckahoe Road	Yonkers, Bronxville
5.14	6A	Corporate Drive	Ridge Hill	Northbound Exit/ Southbound Entrance.
5.47		Yonkers Toll Barrier
7.84	7	NY 9A	Ardsley	Northbound Exit / Southbound Entrance.
10.33	7A	Saw Mill River Parkway Northbound	Yonkers, Katonah	No trucks. Southbound Exit/ Northbound Exit & Entry.
11.31	8A	NY-119	Saw Mill River Parkway
11.31	8	I-287 East - Cross-Westchester Expressway	Rye, Port Chester - To I-95 (New England Thruway, Connecticut Turnpike), I-684	I-287 West joins I-87 North.
12.85	9	US 9	Tarrytown	Originally planned to include Interstate 487.
13.07		Tappan Zee Bridge		Toll southbound.
16.75	10	US 9W	Nyack, South Nyack	Southbound Entry / Northbound Entry & Exit.
17.42	11	US 9W NY 59	Nyack, West Nyack
18.76	12	NY 303	Congers, West Nyack
20.94	13	Palisades Interstate Parkway	George Washington Bridge, Bear Mountain Bridge	No trucks.
22.80	14	NY 59	Spring Valley, Nanuet
23.53	14A	To Garden State Parkway	New Jersey	No trucks across the state line.
24.31		Toll barrier - Trucks only.
~26	14B	Airmont Road	Suffern, Montebello
30.15	15	I-287 South to NJ 17 East	New Jersey	I-287 East joins I-87 South. NY/NJ 17 Joins I-87 North.
31.35	15A	NY 59 East NY 17 West	Sloatsburg	NY 17 joins I-87 South. NY 59 Western Terminus.
45.12	16	NY 17 (Future I-86)		Includes US 6(Long Mountain Parkway).
Harriman Toll Barrier--Begin major closed system (tickets/EZ Pass).
60.10	17	NY 300 to I-84		Direct I-84 interchange under construction.
76.01	18	NY 299	New Paltz
91.37	19	I-587 To NY 28, NY 199, and US 209	Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge	I-587 multiplexes with NY 28.
101.25	20	NY 32	Saugerties
113.89	21	NY 23	Catskill, Cairo
124.53	21B	NY 81 & US 9W	Coxsackie
133.60	21A	Berkshire Extension to I-90 East	To Massachusetts Turnpike	Remain on closed system if you exit.
134.93	22	NY 396, NY 144	Selkirk
141.92	23	I-787 North Riverfront Route	To US 9W	Was also planned to include a connection between I-787 and the Adirondack Northway at US 20
148.15	24	I-90 West - Thruway Mainline I-87 North - Adirondack Northway	- Montreal	Exit 24 coming from the southeast
		I-90 East - To Berkshire Extension I-87 South - Thruway Mainline		Exit 24 coming from the northwest
Interstate 87 North leaves and Interstate 90 West joins Thruway mainline.
153.83	25	I-890 To NY 7 and NY 146	Schenectady
158.82	25A	I-88	Schenectady, Binghamton
162.22	26	I-890 To NY 5S	Schenectady
173.59	27	NY 30	Amsterdam
182.17	28	NY 30A	Fultonville, Fonda
194.1	29	NY 10	Canajoharie, Sharon Springs
210.62	29A	NY 169	Little Falls, Dodgeville
219.70	30	NY 28	Herkimer, Mohawk
232.85	31	I-790 To NY 8 and NY 12	Utica
243.37	32	NY 233	Westmoreland, Rome
252.71	33	NY 365	Verona, Rome
261.5	34	NY 13	Canastota, North Bay
276.58	34A	I-481; NY 481	Syracuse, Oswego
278.93	35	NY 298	Syracuse, East Syracuse
282.93	36	I-81
283.79	37	Electronics Parkway	Syracuse, Liverpool
285.95	38	Onondaga CR 57	Syracuse, Liverpool
289.53	39	I-690; NY 690	Syracuse, Fulton
304.19	40	NY 34	Auburn, Hannibal
320.41	41	NY 414	Waterloo, Clyde
327.1	42	NY 14	Geneva, Lyons
340.15	43	NY 21	Manchester, Palmyra
347.13	44	NY 332	Canandaigua, Victor
350.99	45	I-490 - Eastern Expressway	Rochester, Victor
362.44	46	I-390	Rochester, Corning
378.56	47	I-490 - Western Expressway; NY 19	Rochester, Le Roy
390.13	48	NY 98	Batavia, Albion
401.72	48A	NY 77	Pembroke, Medina
417.27	49	NY 78	Depew, Lockport
419.69	Williamsville Toll Barrier. End major closed system (tickets/EZ Pass).
419.60	50	I-290 - Youngmann Expressway	Buffalo bypass. To I-190.
420.7	50A	Cleveland Drive		Eastbound Exit, Westbound Entrance
421.57	51	NY 33 - Kensington Expressway	Downtown Buffalo, Rochester	To Buffalo Niagara International Airport
423.19	52	Walden Avenue		New York State Reference Route 952Q
424.92	52A	William Street
426.17	53	I-190 - Niagara Thruway	Canadian border.
427.94	54	NY 400; Aurora Expressway TO NY 16	West Seneca, East Aurora
429.47	55	US 219 - Springville Expressway	Springville, Salamanca	(Future I-67)
430.51		Begin minor closed system (tickets/EZ Pass).
432.45	56	NY 179	Blasdell
436.22	57	NY 75	Hamburg
444.87	57A	Eden Evans Center Road	Eden, Angola	TO US 20 and NY 5(Angola). TO US 62(Eden).
455.54	58	NY 438	Irving, Gowanda	Cattaraugus Indian Reservation
467.74	59	NY 60	Dunkirk, Fredonia
485	60	NY 394	Westfield, Mayville	Former NY 17
494.51		End minor closed system (tickets/EZ Pass).
494.92	61	Shortman Road	Ripley
496.00		End Thruway. Interstate 90 continues west into Pennsylvania.

Cross-Westchester Expressway

• 00.00 Begins at the mainline interchange 8
• 06.45 Exit 9A Interstate 684
• 10.65 Interchange 12 New England Thruway (Interchange 21) Interstate 95 (exit 12 is for southbound; main flow is northbound)

New England Thruway

Major interchanges:

• 00.00 Starts from the Bruckner Expressway; exit numbering begins with 8
• 06.94 toll barrier (northbound only)
• 13.71 Exit 21 Interstate 287 Cross Westchester Expressway (under NYSTA) to the Thruway Mainline
• 15.01 Connecticut state line; Connecticut Turnpike; exit numbering ends with 22

Garden State Parkway Connector

It is a 2.40 mile-long road that connects the Thruway with the Garden State Parkway at the New Jersey state line via interchange 14A. It is the only part of the Thruway system that prohibits commercial vehicles (the parkway prohibits commercial traffic north of Exit 105). The connector is toll free, but motorists continuing into New Jersey will encounter tolls along the Garden State Parkway mainline.

Interstate 84

Note that the one toll in New York state, which is for the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, is run by the New York State Bridge Authority (not a Thruway toll), which is also responsible for the bridge. The rest of I-84 in New York is a toll-free component of the Thruway.

There is no direct connection between the mainline (Interchange 17) and I-84 (Interchange 7). Both interchanges are with NY-300. Motorists travelling between the two will encounter one intersection on NY-300 controlled by a traffic light. Improvements have brought both interchanges individually up to freeway standards, though at a loss to local traffic. The Thruway Authority has a [project] in the works to build a direct interchange between I-84 and I-87, without compromising local access to either.

Berkshire Connector

Exits are numbered from west to east, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines.

Mile[Interchange Listing with Mileposts]	#	Destinations	Notes
0.00		Interstate 87 (Thruway Mainline) south - New York City	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance. Remain on closed system.
0.00		Interstate 87 (Thruway Mainline) north to Interstate 90 - Albany; Buffalo
Castleton Bridge (Hudson River)
6.58	B1	Interstate 90 west; U.S. Route 9 - Albany; Hudson	I-90 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
15.09	B2	Taconic State Parkway; New York State Route 295
17.83	Canaan barrier toll. End major closed system (tickets/EZ Pass).
23.27	B3	New York State Route 22 - Austerlitz; New Lebanon
24.28	End Thruway. Interstate 90 continues east as the Massachusetts Turnpike

Niagara Thruway

• 00.00 Begins at mainline interchange 53, spurring from Interstate 90
• 00.53 northbound toll barrier (also known as the Kaisertown Toll Barrier)
• 06.58 Exit 9 Peace Bridge to Canada
• 08.00 southbound toll barrier (also known as the Black Rock Toll Barrier)
• 13.33 Exit 16 Interstate 290 (New York)
• 14.26 northbound toll barrier (toll for the northbound lanes of the South Grand Island Bridge over the Niagara River)
• 20.22 southbound toll barrier (toll for the southbound lanes of the North Grand Island Bridge over the Niagara River)
• 21.24 roadway continues as Niagara Expressway (I-190) towards Canada

Notes

• Aside from the Garden State Parkway Connector, there are two sections of the Thruway that lack an Interstate designation. One is a very short portion, entirely within interchange 24, between the point where I-87 exits and the point where I-90 merges. The other is approximately six miles of the Berkshire Connector between exit 21A on the Mainline and exit B1, where the Berkshire Connector becomes I-90. This latter section includes the Castleton Bridge.

• Altogether, 98.600% of regular highway mileage in the Thruway system has at least one Interstate designation:
• *Interstate 90 366.55 miles (Mainline and Berkshire extension)
• *Interstate 87 148.15 miles (Mainline)
• *Interstate 84 71.46 miles (includes Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, maintained by the New York State Bridge Authority)
• *Interstate 287 29.76 miles (Mainline, shared with 87, and Cross-Westchester Expressway)
• *Interstate 190 21.24 miles
• *Interstate 95 15.01 miles

• The ticket system once began at the Spring Valley barrier (which is currently a westbound-only commercial traffic toll); however, it was moved to Interchange 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.
• Interchange 16 is a very strange interchange. It contains two distinct entities within the ticketed toll system, exit 16 and the Woodbury toll barrier (#15), limit of the ticket-controlled system. It also posseses a stand-alone toll (Harriman). From above, it looks like any other trumpet-style ticketed interchange, but there is a toll plaza across the mainline.
• *Motorists remaining on the mainline pickup a #15 ticket or pay a #15 toll, at the toll barrier across the mainline.
• *South-/East-bound travellers exiting at 16 pay an ordinary #16 toll, at the trumpet plaza.
• *North-/West-bound travellers exiting at 16 pay the fixed-rate "Harriman" toll at the trumpet plaza.
• *Traffic entering the Thruway at interchange 16 all pays the "Harriman" fixed-rate toll at the trumpet plaza. Traffic heading north/west must also stop at the mainline plaza to recieve a discounted #16 ticket (with the "Harriman" toll subtracted from all of the prices).
• All highways maintained by the Thruway Authority lack little green New York State reference markers that exist on all NYSDOT roads. The tenth-mile markers are also different from most in the rest of the state and the country (most state roads have just the reference markers, which include milage information, but many NYSDOT freeways have markers similar to the rest of the country). Rather than being green and white, they are often just a white background with blue numbers. The mile markers within the Thruway Authority bear the Thruway logo on the top and some sort of identifier for that highway (except for the mainline; some of them are: an I-84 shield for I-84 and CW for the Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287)).

References

External links

• [NYC Roads: New York State Thruway]
• [New York State Thruway Authority]
• [Thruway Chronology 1942-2000]
• [The Thruway's entry in BBC h2g2]
• [Official Interchange Listing]
• [NY Traffic Court Directory]

 

---

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

---

Search Titles

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

?