New York State Route 344 (NY 344) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

located in Columbia County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in the United States. The route is in length and serves primarily as an access road to the

Bash Bish Falls Bash Bish Falls, a waterfall in Bash Bish Falls State Park in the Taconic Mountains of southwestern Massachusetts (Berkshire County), is the highest waterfall in the state. The falls are made up of a series of cascades, nearly in total. The fin ...

state parks on both sides of the

–

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

border. The western terminus of NY 344 is at

NY 22 New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton County near the Canadian border. ...

in Copake Falls. Its eastern terminus is at the Massachusetts state line, where it continues into

Bash Bish Falls State Park Bash Bish Falls State Park is a Massachusetts state park located in the town of Mount Washington. The park is named after Bash Bish Falls, Massachusetts' highest single-drop waterfall (), which lies within its borders. The park is managed by the ...

as Falls Road, a locally maintained highway. NY 344 was assigned and extended to its current length by 1953 after NY 22 was rerouted to bypass Copake Falls.

Route description

NY 344 begins at an intersection with

in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Copake Falls. The road heads to the southeast, turning eastward into

Taconic State Park Taconic State Park is located in Columbia and Dutchess County, New York abutting Massachusetts and Connecticut within the Taconic Mountains. The state park is located off New York State Route 344 south of Interstate 90 and north of New York City. I ...

. NY 344 intersects with a few local roads at the border of the park, where it runs along the south base of Sunset Rock, an high, dual-state mountain. The route continues eastward, along the base of Cedar Mountain before beginning to ascend the mountain. While climbing Cedar Mountain, NY 344 crosses into

and becomes the unnumbered Falls Road, a local roadway providing access to

History

NY 344 was assigned to a highway extending from Copake Falls in the west to the

state line in the east. At the time,

served Copake Falls directly instead of bypassing it. NY 22 was rerouted to bypass Copake Falls on a new roadway to the west of the hamlet between 1947 and 1953. NY 344 was then extended northward on NY 22's former alignment to meet the new bypass north of Copake Falls. The southern half of NY 22's old routing into the hamlet remained state-maintained as well and is now New York State Route 980F, an unsigned reference route, and is signed on NY 22 as a southern branch of NY 344. In August and October 1955, NY 344 and the

south of the road was inundated with floods damaging the blacktop surface highway. The reconstruction of NY 344 was the center point of debate came in late February 1956, where Paul Winslow, the executive secretary of the Taconic State Park Commission, who felt it was unimportant if the road was rebuilt. Local officials in the town of Copake opposed Winslow's view, noting that it only cost $35,000 (1956

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) to reconstruct the road. In April 1956, the county contacted

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Ernest Hatfield Ernest Isadore Hatfield (April 23, 1890 – March 1977) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born on April 23, 1890, in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, the son of Gilbert Joshua Hatfield (1836-1922) and Adele Marie Antoine ...

that the road was barricaded in Copake Falls for the fact that there was no residences and the fact that the Massachusetts side was wiped out by the flooding. In November 1956, a bid was let for $49,329 to reconstruct NY 344 including the construction of drainage facilities and shoulders along the road. The slated completion date was for July 31, 1957. However, progress on reconstruction of NY 344 was nearly complete by March 1957.

Major intersections

References

External links

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344 Year 344 (Roman numerals, CCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Leontius and Bonosus (or, less frequently, year 1097 ...

Transportation in Columbia County, New York

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links