New York State Route 201 (NY 201) is a north–south

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 west of the city of

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

in Broome 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 * '' ...

. The southern terminus of the route is at NY 434 in Vestal while the northern terminus is at an interchange with NY 17 (future Interstate 86) in Johnson City.

Route description

NY 201 begins at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with NY 434 (Vestal Parkway) in the town of Vestal at the northern edge of

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

. NY 201 proceeds northward as a four-lane freeway, crossing over County Route 44 (CR 44; Old Vestal Road), which is accessed via a ramp southbound, with no northbound access. NY 201 bends northeast, crossing the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

via the C. Fred Johnson Bridge. After the bridge, NY 201 crosses over Boland Drive and enters an interchange with Riverside Drive, which is connected via a traffic circle in Johnson City. Continuing north through Johnson City, ramps from Riverside Drive merge in northbound, at which point, NY 201 crosses over the former

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

main line tracks. Continuing north through Johnson City, NY 201 remains a four-lane freeway, entering a

folded diamond 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 be ...

with NY 17C (Main Street). After NY 17C, NY 201 crosses over

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

's former main line tracks, now maintained by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

as its

Southern Tier Line The Southern Tier Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. A mostly former Erie Railroad line, it is suggested that the line runs from Suffern, New York northwest to ...

. While crossing over the tracks, ramps accessing the

Southern Tier Expressway New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Souther ...

(exit 70N of NY 17). At this interchange, the NY 201 designation terminates, while the right-of-way continues northward as NY 991C, a reference route, until the intersection with Harry L. Drive in Johnson City.

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 4, 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 Westfield in the west to Highland Falls in the east. Route 4 entered the

area on modern NY 17C and followed Riverside Drive, Washington Street, Susquehanna Street, and Court Street into and through downtown before leaving the city on what is now U.S. Route 11. The Riverside Drive segment of old Route 4 was designated as New York State Route 17H by 1940. NY 17H began at NY 17C in Johnson City and ended at NY 17, then routed on Washington Street, in downtown Binghamton. NY 17 was rerouted slightly by 1947 to cross the

on Exchange Street, resulting in a short extension of NY 17H along Washington and Susquehanna Streets. A new highway crossing the Susquehanna River from Vestal to Johnson City opened to traffic in 1954. It began at NY 17 and continued northeast across the river to a terminus at NY 17H. In September 1971, the Vestal–Johnson City arterial and the portion of Riverside Drive north of that highway was redesignated as NY 201. The remainder of NY 17H west of the Binghamton city limits became NY 990D, an unsigned reference route. Originally, traffic along NY 201 emptied into a

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection (road), intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The N ...

located in Johnson City near the Susquehanna's north bank. This hazardous situation was rectified in 2004 when the size of the traffic circle was reduced to allow for a flyover to be built northwest of the circle. With the flyover in place, traffic on NY 201 can continue on the road without entering the traffic circle. The circle is still accessible via exits from the NY 201 bypass.

Exit list

References

External links

{{New York State Route 17

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 '' Ab urbe condi ...

Limited-access roads in New York (state) Transportation in Broome County, New York

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links