New York State Route 345 (NY 345) 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 entirely within
St. Lawrence County in the
North Country of
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 is a north–south route connecting the towns of
Waddington and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
by way of the
town of Madrid. The southern terminus of NY 345 is at an intersection with
U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in the
village of Potsdam. Its northern terminus is at a junction with
NY 37 in the
village of Waddington by the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
.
NY 345 was assigned as part of the
1930 renumbering of state highways in New York; however, it originally followed a different alignment south of the
hamlet of Madrid. At the time, what is now NY 345 between Madrid and Potsdam was part of
NY 56A. The NY 56A designation was eliminated in 1980. NY 345 was realigned two years later to follow old NY 56A to Potsdam as a result of a highway maintenance swap between the state of New York and St. Lawrence County. Ownership and maintenance of NY 345's original routing south of Madrid was transferred from the state to the county and the village of
Canton as part of the exchange.
Route description
NY 345 begins at an intersection with
US 11 in the
village of Potsdam, just north of
Clarkson University
Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...
. The route heads northwestward on Pine Street and Madrid Avenue as a village-maintained, state-numbered highway,
crossing the
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
-owned
St. Lawrence Subdivision
The St. Lawrence Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The line runs from Syracuse, New York, north to Massena (village), New York, Massena, New York, along a former New York Cen ...
by way of a
grade crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...
as it heads through a commercial and residential area.
It exits the village shortly afterward, at which point the route becomes maintained by the
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in ...
.
It heads northwestward on a linear path through the
town of Potsdam, passing through mostly undeveloped areas comprising open fields and forests. NY 345 curves slightly northward at Burnham Corners before crossing Trout Brook and entering the town of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, where it traverses the
New York and Ogdensburg Railway
The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority owns two segments of shortline railroad that are operated by a private contractor dba the New York and Ogdensburg Railway . This railroad serves the Port of Ogdensburg and connects with CSX Transportatio ...
by way of a grade crossing just outside the
hamlet of Madrid.
The highway continues into the community, where the route becomes Bridge Street and intersects
NY 310 on the eastern bank of the
Grasse River
The Grasse River or Grass River (per 1905 decision of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names) is a river in northern New York, in the United States. The river mainly flows northeast from the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains into the St. Lawrenc ...
. It continues across the river to Main Street, at which point NY 345 turns to the northeast and follows Main Street out of the hamlet. North of Madrid, NY 345 curves back to the northwest as it enters another rural area. It passes by the isolated
Madrid–Waddington Central School just before crossing into the
town of Waddington. The rural surroundings continue to the
village of Waddington, where the amount of development along the route increases after the highway crosses Sucker Brook south of the village center. NY 345 ends shortly afterward at an intersection with
NY 37 in the village center near the southern bank of the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
.
History
When NY 345 was assigned as part of the
1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, it began at
US 11 in
Canton. From there, NY 345 followed modern
County Route 27 (CR 27) and
CR 14 north to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, where it joined its modern alignment north to
Waddington. At the same time, the current alignment of NY 345 from modern
NY 310 in Madrid to
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
was designated as the southern half of
NY 56A.
The short piece of Bridge Street not part of NY 56A in Madrid was a state-maintained
reference route.
On April 10, 1980, the NY 56A designation was deleted. The portion of former NY 56A from Madrid to Potsdam, as well as the state-maintained Bridge Street connector, became part of a rerouted NY 345 on September 1, 1982, as a result of a highway maintenance swap between the state of New York and
St. Lawrence County. As part of the swap, the pre-1982 routing of NY 345 between the Canton village line and Bridge Street in Madrid was turned over to the county while the portion of former NY 345 within Canton was transferred to the village.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{Good article
345
The Year 345 ( CCCXLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Amantius and Albinus (or, less frequently, year 1098 ''Ab urbe ...
Transportation in St. Lawrence County, New York