New York State Route 266 (NY 266) is a state highway in

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Erie w ...

, in the United States. It runs along the Niagara River from the city of Buffalo to the city of Tonawanda. The southern terminus of the route is at the ramps leading to Interstate 190 (I-190) exit 8 in Buffalo. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with NY 265 just south of

North Tonawanda North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south bo ...

in Tonawanda.

Route description

NY 266 begins at the end of the off-ramps for exit 8 of

I-190 Interstate 190 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States related to Interstate 90: * Interstate 190 (Illinois), a spur into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport *Interstate 190 (Massachusetts), a spur from Worcester to L ...

(the Niagara Thruway) in the city of Buffalo. Running northwest along Buffalo's West Side, NY 266 proceeds along Niagara Street, a two-lane commercial street through the city. Paralleling I-190 through the city, the route passes east of

D'Youville College D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D'Youville Co ...

and through Prospect Park at the junction with Porter Avenue. Porter Avenue connects NY 266 to I-190's exit 9 just to the southwest. Bypassing all the entrance ramps to the

Peace Bridge The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fort Er ...

, NY 266 continues along the two-lane Niagara Street to a junction with Busti Avenue. At Busti, NY 266 and Niagara Street turn north, running in the shadows of I-190 near the Niagara River. A couple blocks north, the route reaches Robert Rich Way, which connects to Broderick Park and the wastewater treatment facility for Buffalo. NY 266 continues north on the West Side of Buffalo, crossing into a large interchange with I-190, NY 198 (the Scajaquada Expressway) and the southern terminus of NY 265 (Tonawanda Street). At this interchange, NY 266 turns northwest with Niagara Street along

Scajaquada Creek Scajaquada Creek ( ) is a stream in Erie County, New York, United States. The name is derived from Philip Kenjockety, a Native American described as the oldest resident of the region upon his death in 1808. The creek lends its name to the Scaj ...

and parallels I-190 into the Black Rock section of Buffalo. Soon after, the ramp from exit 12 crosses NY 266 at another Tonawanda Street and exit 13 junctions at Austin Street. The route continues northeast, crossing exit 14 at Ontario Street and entering the Riverside neighborhood of Buffalo. At Crowley Avenue, the route passes southwest of St. Francis Cemetery and Riverside Cemetery. Just north of the cemetery, the route crosses into the town of Tonawanda. NY 266 from S Grand Island Bridge

Passing General Motors

Tonawanda Engine Tonawanda Engine is a General Motors engine factory in Buffalo, New York. The plant consists of three facilities totaling and sits upon . The factory receives cast engine blocks from Defiance Foundry in Defiance, Ohio and Saginaw Metal Casting Op ...

Plant, NY 266 is now known as River Road, crossing over I-190 and providing a ramp to the roadway. Just north of the ramp, the route comes to an intersection with the western end of NY 325 (Sheridan Drive). Passing a plant for

Dunlop Rubber Dunlop Ltd. (formerly Dunlop Rubber) was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and ...

, NY 266 runs along the shores of the Niagara River through Tonawanda, passing multiple factories as well as the Huntley Generating Station as it bends northward along the shore. Crossing an intersection with County Route 189 (CR 189 or Grand Island Boulevard), NY 266 crosses under the

South Grand Island Bridge The South Grand Island Bridge is a pair of twin two-lane truss arch bridges spanning the Niagara River between Tonawanda and Grand Island in New York, United States. Each bridge carries one direction of Interstate 190 (I-190) and New Y ...

, used by I-190 and NY 324. On the other side of a bridge, NY 266 connects to the roadway at exit 17. Continuing along the Niagara River, NY 266 bends northeast through Tonawanda, passing south of Isle View Park and crosses over Twomile Creek. Passing Veterans Memorial Park, the route enters the city of Tonawanda, gaining the Niagara Street moniker. Becoming a two-lane park and residential street, NY 266 passes Nia-Wanda Park and soon enters the downtown section of the city at Bouck Street. Passing north of Clinton Park, the route passes south of a large commercial development along the Niagara River, reaching a junction with NY 265 (Seymour Street) near the bridge into

Niagara County Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of waters''. Niaga ...

and the city of

History

All of modern NY 266 was originally designated as part of NY 384 in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. NY 384 began at Main Street (

NY 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...

) in Buffalo and followed Niagara Street and River Road north to the

city of Tonawanda Tonawanda (formally ''City of Tonawanda'') is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North To ...

, where it turned north onto modern NY 265 and proceeded across the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

into

. NY 266 was assigned to the portion of modern NY 384 between Sheridan Drive ( NY 324) in the

town of Tonawanda Tonawanda (formally the Town of Tonawanda) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 72,636. The town is at the north border of the county and is the northern inner ring suburb of B ...

and River Road (then-NY 384) in North Tonawanda. NY 384 was realigned by the following year to follow Delaware Avenue between downtown Buffalo and North Tonawanda. The change supplanted NY 266, which was reassigned to the portion of NY 384's original, riverside routing south of NY 265 in the city of Tonawanda. The south end of the route was shifted three blocks west to

Niagara Square Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed ...

in the 1960s after NY 5 was realigned through downtown Buffalo to serve the square. NY 266 was truncated again in the early 1970s to begin at the newly constructed ramps leading to

exit 8.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{NYSR external links, type=N, nyroutes=yes, termini=yes, route=266, alps=yes

266 __NOTOC__ Year 266 ( CCLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Sabinillus (or, less frequently, year 1019 ...

Transportation in Buffalo, New York Transportation in Erie County, New York

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links