New York State Route 203 (NY 203) 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 ...

in the

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politica ...

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. It begins at an intersection with

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 the Columbia County hamlet of

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz an ...

and ends at a junction with U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in the Rensselaer County village of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

. NY 203 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Prior to that time, the section of NY 203 east of

Valatie Valatie (; ) is a village with several waterfalls in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,819 at the 2010 census. The village is at the center of the town of Kinderhook on US 9. History Valatie was first named ''Pach ...

was part of NY 22. The road runs northwest-southeast, and is signed east-west east of Valatie and north-south north of Valatie.

Route description

NY 203 begins at an intersection with

in the town of

. NY 203 proceeds northwest and downtown into the hamlet of Spencertown. Spencertown consists of several homes situated around the intersection of NY 203 and Fire Hill Road. The two-lane route winds its way west through the town of Austerlitz, passing through woods and residences for several miles. At the intersection with Jugway Road, NY 203 bends northwest, entering a large hamlet at the intersection with County Route 7 (CR 7; South Street). Residences surround NY 203 as it heads northeast, before starting to space north of Goodrich Lane. The route winds its way to the northwest, becoming more rural as it enters an intersection with CR 9 in the hamlet of Moorhouse Corner. NY 203 NY 66

Still in the town of Austerlitz, NY 203 bends northwest from CR 9 and enters a

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with the

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP and known administratively as New York State Route 987G or NY 987G) is a Parkways in New York State, parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham (town), New York, Chatham, the ...

before intersecting with CR 61 (Hogel Hill Road) nearby. After CR 61, NY 203 makes a dart to the southwest into the town of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, running around a hillside before turning northwest into the village of

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. In Chatham, NY 203 gains the moniker of Coleman Street, intersecting with NY 66 (Hudson Avenue), where it changes names to Church Street. Proceeding west through Chatham, the route becomes a two-lane commercial and residential strip before leaving the village for Ghent once again. Out of Chatham, NY 203 drops the Church Street moniker, winding its way northwest along a freight line into the town of

. In the town of Chatham, NY 203 bends northwest then west as it becomes more rural. A short distance later, NY 203 intersects with CR 21B in the town of Kinderhook. At CR 21B, NY 203 winds northward through Kinderhook as a two-lane rural roadway, bending northwest at a junction with Merwin Road. NY 203 proceeds west, passing north of Winding Brook Country Club and soon into the village of

. In Valatie, NY 203 gains the moniker of Chatham Street, proceeding north as a two-lane residential street. After crossing Kinderhook Creek in the middle of the village, NY 203 enters downtown Valatie, intersecting with Main Street, which proceeds westward to connect with US 9. NY 203 however proceeds eastward along Main, crossing an intersection that leads to CR 28A (Upper Main Street). NY 203 proceeds north on Mechanic Street, a two-lane commercial street in the northeastern corner of the village. At Church Street, the route bends northeast, leaving downtown Valatie and soon back into the town of Kinderhook. In Kinderhook, NY 203 becomes a two-lane residential street, passing southeast of the hamlet of Valatie Corner and into a junction with CR 28 (Main Street / Newton Hill Road). NY 203 at US 20

After CR 28, NY 203 bends northeast, crossing under the freight line and running along the eastern side of Niverville. After Niverville, NY 203 crosses back into the town of Chatham, passing along the eastern shore of Kinderhook Lake as a two-lane residential street. The route bends away from the lake, soon bending northeast into a junction with CR 17. At CR 17, NY 203 bends northward into the hamlet of North Chatham. In North Chatham, NY 203 is a two-lane residential strip, intersecting with CR 32 at the north end of the hamlet. At CR 32, NY 203 darts northeast, intersecting with another segment of CR 32 before turning north and crossing the county line into Rensselaer County. After crossing the county line, NY 203 crosses under the Berkshire Spur of the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

(

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

) in the town of

. Beyond the Thruway, NY 203 continues northward, crossing and re-crossing the Valatie Kill. The route passes the Nassau-Schodack Cemetery and several residences as it bends northeast, eventually entering the village of

. In Nassau, NY 203 has the moniker of Chatham Street, becoming a two-lane residential strip before intersecting with US 20 (Albany Avenue / Church Street). This junction serves as the northern terminus of NY 203.

History

In 1908, the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

created Route 1, an unsigned

legislative route In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by laws passed in a state legislature. The numbering of such highways may or may not correspond to the numbers familiar to the public as part of the state, ...

extending from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Albany along the eastern fringe of

. Route 1 mostly followed what is now

from New York City to

, where it turned west and continued to

on modern NY 203. The route left NY 203 at Main Street and continued to Albany on current US 9. When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, most of legislative Route 1 south of NY 23 in Hillsdale became NY 22. The remainder of old Route 1 between Hillsdale and Valatie became part of an extended NY 22 in the late 1920s. NY 22 was realigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to continue north from Austerlitz to the Canadian border near Mooers by way of the eastern edge of the state. Most of NY 22's former routing between Valatie and Austerlitz became part of NY 203, a new route extending from Austerlitz to

via Valatie. The short segment of former NY 22 along Main Street in Valatie from Kinderhook Street (US 9) to Chatham Street (NY 203) did not receive a designation and is now NY 980B, an unsigned reference route.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{NYSR external links, type=N, nyroutes=yes, termini=yes, route=203, alps=yes

203 Year 203 ( CCIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Plautianus and Geta (or, less frequently, year 956 ''Ab urbe condit ...

Transportation in Rensselaer County, New York Transportation in Columbia County, New York

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links