U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a part of the
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
that runs from
Walterboro, South Carolina, to
Painted Post, New York. In the
U.S. state 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
* '' ...
, US 15 extends through the
Southern Tier
The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...
from the
Pennsylvania state line at
Lindley north to an interchange with the
Southern Tier Expressway (
Interstate 86 and
New York State Route 17) just outside Painted Post. US 15 originally continued north to
Rochester before being truncated to its present northern terminus. All of US 15 in New York was designated to
I-99 on June 27, 2014, and US 15 now runs concurrently with I-99.
Route description
US 15 enters New York adjacent to the state line borough of
Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, at which point the northern segment of
I-99 begins. A four-lane freeway through the
Steuben County town of
Lindley, US 15 crosses through a rock cut, making a large bend to the north and bypassing the hamlet of
Presho. I-99/US 15 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
CR 5 (Smith Road). After CR 5, US 15 bent northeast through the town of
Erwin, running to the west of the Indian Hills Golf Club. Making a gradual bend further to the northeast, the freeway crosses the
Canisteo River and enters the hamlet of Erwin, where it enters a
diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road.
Design
The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
with
NY 417 (Addison Road). After NY 417, US 15 makes a bend alongside
Norfolk Southern Railroad
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
's
Southern Tier Line (former
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 ...
main line). Now paralleling the tracks and NY 417, US 15 crossed through Erwin, entering exit 3, which connects to NY 417 once again, next to Gang Mills Yard,
the site of the former
Painted Post
Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction o ...
station.
After Gang Mills Yard, US 15 crosses through the
Gang Mills section of Erwin, entering a large interchange at the northern end of the neighborhood. Signed exit 12, this interchange serves
CR 107 (Robert Dann Drive) via NY 417. After CR 107, US 15 enters a large interchange that utilizes several flyover ramps between US 15,
I-86, and
NY 17 (the
Southern Tier Expressway). Ramps are also present, connecting to
NY 352. This interchange serves as the northern terminus of US 15.
History
Origins and designation
The first set of posted routes in
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
* '' ...
were assigned in 1924. One route assigned at this time was New York State Route 4, a highway extending from the
Pennsylvania state line in
Lindley to downtown
Rochester. NY 4 roughly followed the modern alignment of US 15 from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
to Presho, Indian Hill Road from Presho to Erwin,
NY 417 from Erwin to
Gang Mills, and Hamilton Street from Gang Mills to
Painted Post
Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction o ...
. From Painted Post northward, NY 4 was routed along modern
NY 415 to
Wayland, from where it continued to Rochester on what is now
NY 15. At the state line, NY 4 connected to
Pennsylvania Route 4 (PA 4). In 1927,
US 4 was first signed in New York. As a result, NY 4 was renumbered to New York State Route 2 to eliminate numerical duplication with the new U.S. Highway.
By 1929,
US 111 was assigned, following what had been PA 4 northward from
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the New York state line at
Lawrenceville, where it ended. At some point between 1935 and 1937,
US 15
U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Car ...
was extended northward from
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
, to the New York state line by way of an
overlap with US 111.
The overlap between US 15 and US 111 was eliminated
when US 111 was truncated southward to Harrisburg. US 15 was extended northward to Rochester by the following April, replacing all of NY 2.
Realignments and truncation
Construction began on a bypass of
NY 17 and US 15 in the vicinity of Corning (modern exit 45) and Painted Post (exit 43). The entirety of the highway, plus an extension northwest to
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
(exit 41), was completed between 1964 and 1968. US 15 and NY 17 were rerouted to follow the new highway, and their former routings between Campbell and Corning were redesignated as
NY 415.
The portion of the US 15 / NY 17 freeway between Campbell and Avoca (exit 36) was completed by 1973. On July 1, 1974, US 15 was truncated to its current northern terminus in Painted Post and replaced with NY 15 from Painted Post to Rochester.
In the mid-1960s, work began on a limited-access highway paralleling US 15 from Presho to the
Southern Tier Expressway at Painted Post.
The highway was completed and opened to traffic as a realignment of US 15. The interchange between US 15 and NY 17 (now concurrent with
I-86) in Painted Post has been redesigned twice. The original configuration of the interchange featured a loop centered around the point where US 15 met NY 17, with ramps providing access to and from the loop from US 15, NY 17, and North Hamilton Street.
The second design, in place until 2003, was a semi-
diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road.
Design
The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
, with US 15 intersecting ramps from I-86 and NY 17 at-grade. One connection, I-86 / NY 17 east to North Hamilton Street, was lost in this version due to the ramp setup of the southern half of the interchange. North of the ramps leading to and from I-86 / NY 17 westbound, the right of way of US 15 continued north into Painted Post as North Hamilton Street. The current setup is a
directional T 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 ...
, which creates a freeway-to-freeway connection between US 15 and I-86 / NY 17. Separate ramps for North Hamilton Street from I-86 / NY 17 were retained; however, for the first time, there was no direct connection between US 15 and North Hamilton Street.
Work on the interchange began in late 2003 and was completed in mid-2008.
Conversion to freeway
In the
National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, the portion of US 15 in New York was defined as part of
I-99. I-99 currently ends just shy of
I-80; however, construction is either underway or has been completed on projects to upgrade
US 220 and US 15 between
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and Corning to
Interstate Highway standards
Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...
. In June 2007, work began on a new freeway alignment for US 15 between the Pennsylvania state line and Watson Creek Road in Lindley. The highway was opened to traffic on October 1, 2008. Ownership and maintenance of the former surface alignment of US 15 was transferred to
Steuben County, which designated the highway as CR 115.
Ground was broken September 21, 2009, on the final section of the freeway between Watson Creek Road and Presho. The southbound lanes of the highway opened on August 22, 2013. The northbound lanes opened on October 8. The bridge portion of the project received $9 million in annual
Appalachian Development Highway System
The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historical ...
(ADHS) funding from 2010 to 2012 and $5.7 million from the state of New York. Local officials had called on state and federal officials to expedite the construction process by paying for the project up front and using ADHS grants in the years to come to pay off the debt later on. The highway was nominated for a
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery
Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), previously called
Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD), and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), is a supplementary ...
grant, but was rejected.
On June 27, 2014,
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
announced that US 15 was now designated officially as part of I-99.
While signs for US 15 were removed after the designation of I-99, they were restored in 2016, and US 15 and I-99 continue to officially overlap for the entire length of the routes in New York.
Exit list
See also
*
List of county routes in Steuben County, New York
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 015 In New York
15
New York
Limited-access roads in New York (state)
Transportation in Steuben County, New York