New York State Route 396 (NY 396) is a east–west
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
Albany County, New York
Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...
, in the United States. The route is functionally a
spur route
A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...
as it connects to another signed state highway at only one end. The western terminus of NY 396 is at an intersection with
County Route 103 (CR 103) in Callanans Corners, a small
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 ...
situated just south of the
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
–
Coeymans town line in the town of Coeymans. Its eastern terminus is at a junction with
NY 144 in Bethlehem east of the hamlet of
Selkirk. West of Callanans Corners, the road continues northwestward to
NY 443 in
New Scotland as
CR 301. NY 396 was assigned as part of the
1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.
Route description
![NY 396 eastbound](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/NY_396_eastbound.jpg)
NY 396 begins at an intersection with
CR 103 in
Coeymans. To the west, the road is
CR 301. The highway also changes names from Cedar Grove Road to Bridge Street. NY 396 progresses eastward, intersecting with local roads in the undeveloped lowlands. At an intersection with
CR 102 (Old Quarry and Starr roads), the highway enters
Spawn Hollow, a local hamlet. After that intersection, NY 396 becomes more developed, entering South Bethlehem, and intersecting with several local roads.
After South Bethlehem, NY 396 enters the hamlet of Bethlehem Heights, where the highway curves to the northeast. NY 396 passes over the
Selkirk Subdivision
The Selkirk Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Selkirk northwest to Amsterdam along a former New York Central Railroad line. At its southeast end, at Selkirk Yard, the Se ...
, a railroad line owned by
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. ...
, at the eastern edge of the large Selkirk Yard. Past the bridge, the highway turns eastward and into the hamlet of Beckers Corners, where it intersects with
U.S. Route 9W (US 9W). After that intersection, NY 396 turns to the southeast once again, leaving its original right-of-way along Maple Avenue at an intersection with Beaverdam Road. The route bends several times in a highly developed region as it enters the community of
Selkirk. NY 396 turns eastward and terminates at an intersection with
NY 144 (River Road) east of Selkirk. Not far to the north of the junction, NY 144 connects to 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 ...
(
Interstate 87) at exit 22.
History
The origins of NY 396 date back to the mid-1900s when the portion of the route east of modern
US 9W
U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approac ...
was first improved to state highway standards. Work on the highway was performed as part of a project awarded June 11, 1904, that also called for the reconstruction of what is now
NY 144 between NY 396 and Feura Bush Road
(unsigned
NY 910A
New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with ...
and formerly part of
NY 32). The roads rebuilt as part of the project were added to the state highway system on December 5, 1906, as
unsigned
Unsigned can refer to:
* An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label
** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists
** Unsigned band web, online community
* Similarly, the c ...
State Highway 193 (SH 193).
In 1908, the westernmost of SH 193 was included as part of Route 3, 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, ...
that followed the modern US 9W corridor between
Highland Falls and
Albany.
When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, most of legislative Route 3 became part of
NY 10
New York State Route 10 (NY 10) is a north–south state highway in the Central New York and North Country regions of New York in the United States. It extends for from the Quickway ( NY 17) (Future Interstate 86) in Deposit ...
.
The alignments of the two routes differed north of
New Baltimore: while Route 3 went due north through
Ravena
Ravena is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,271 in the 2020 census an increase of 3 over the 2010 census. The village is in the southeast part of the town of Coeymans.
History
The village of Ravena ...
and
Selkirk to Albany, NY 10 ran alongside the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
on current NY 144 instead. In the early-to-mid-1920s, the state of New York acquired a road connecting the west end of SH 193 to Callanans Corners in the town of
Coeymans.
The new highway was entered into the state highway system as SH 1562.
In the
1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the Selkirk leg of SH 193 and SH 1562 were collectively designated as NY 396. The route's alignment has not been altered since.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{NYSR external links, type=N, nyroutes=yes, termini=yes, route=396
396
Transportation in Albany County, New York