New York State Route 218 (NY 218) is a state highway located within

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orange ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It loops off U.S. Route 9W to run closer to 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 ...

between Highland Falls and

Cornwall-on-Hudson Cornwall-on-Hudson is a riverfront village in the town of Cornwall, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies on the west bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of New York City. The population as of the 2010 census was 3,018. It ...

. North of Highland Falls, it is briefly

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 9W. NY 218 sees much traffic despite its short length. Not only does it bring most of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

's traffic to Thayer Gate, its main entrance, it attracts many who drive it just for the sake of its most renowned portion: the cliffside drive alongside Storm King Mountain. In good weather during the summer months many cars can be seen taking in the views of the river and the

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York state lying primarily in Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County on its west. They continue somewhat to the south in Westchester County and Rockland Count ...

here (however, this section can be gated off and closed in times of high

rockslide A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

danger).

Route description

NY 218 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, usi ...

with flyover ramps with

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 ...

in the village of Highland Falls near the former site of Fort Montgomery. NY 218 proceeds northeast through the village as a two lane village street, turning northward at an intersection with Old State Road. NY 218 proceeds north, crossing a large residential section of Highland Falls bending northeast then north before intersecting with West Point Highway (unsigned NY 980W). A short distance to the north in Highland Falls, NY 218 bends west on an intersection with Mill Street and Mountain Avenue, where NY 218 turns west on Mountain Avenue, a two-lane commercial/residential street through Highland Falls. Passing west of Highland Falls Intermediate School, the route bends northward around a small section of the

at West Point. NY 218 winds through Highland Falls, leaving the downtown section of the village, entering an interchange with US 9W and Stony Lonesome Road. Stony Lonesome Road connects US 9W and NY 218 to West Point's Stony Lonesome Gate, while NY 218 merges with US 9W northbound, forming a concurrency. Now in the town of

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, NY 218 and US 9W wind northwest as a four-lane boulevard through the West Point Golf Course, where NY 218 forks off at an interchange that also doubles as the northern terminus of NY 293. Now on the right-of-way ceded from NY 293, NY 218 parallels US 9W as a two-lane road running along the northwestern side of the golf course. After the golf course, the route intersects with Washington Road. Washington Road connects NY 218 to West Point via Washington Gate, while NY 218 proceeds north through Highlands. NY 218 on Storm King

NY 218 winds north and northwest along the border of West Point, crossing through a section of the military academy. As the route approaches the

, it bends northward as the Storm King Highway, paralleling the river and the CSX Transportation-owned River Subdivision (ex-West Shore Line). A short distance to the north, the route crosses a gate and enters Storm King State Park. Making a large bend around a rock base, NY 218 approaches the Hudson River, overlooking the river and railroad tracks below. The route winds northwest for several miles alongside the rock siding, crossing into the town of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, where the route turns west and away from the river. Crossing through a dense section of woods, the route makes several bends through Storm King State Park, re-approaching the river a short distance to the north. NY 218 turns westward again in Cornwall, crossing into the village of

. A short distance to the east, NY 218 crosses out of Storm King State Park and crosses gates that close the roadway. Now known as Bay View Avenue, NY 218 is a two-lane residential street through Cornwall-on-Hudson, proceeding west through the village. At Dock Hill Extension, NY 218 darts north and changes streets to Hudson Street, where it continues westward. Hudson Street is more commercial than Bay View Avenue and after entering the downtown section of Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY 218 darts westward on Hudson, while Idlewild Avenue continues northwest on the former right-of-way. The section of NY 218 west of Idlewild is residential before intersecting with Academy Avenue, where NY 218 turns off of Hudson Street. NY 218 continues northwest through Cornwall-on-Hudson on Academy Avenue, remaining a two-lane residential street through the village. At the intersection with County Route 9 (CR 9; Main Street, formerly the northern terminus of NY 307), NY 218 proceeds northwest again, entering an interchange with US 9W. Now back in the town of Cornwall, NY 218 terminates at this interchange with US 9W.

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 officia ...

created 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, ...

extending from the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

state line in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

to Albany by way of the

's west bank. The route mostly followed what is now U.S. Route 9W; however, from Highland Falls to

, it used modern NY 218 instead. Much 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 ...

when the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924 and part of US 9W when it was originally assigned in 1927. In the early 1930s, plans were made by the state of New York to construct a new highway between the

Bear Mountain Bridge The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries US 6 and US 202 across the Hudson River between Bear Mountain State Park in Orange Co ...

and Cornwall-on-Hudson that would bypass both Cornwall-on-Hudson and Highland Falls and bypass the narrow Storm King Highway. On April 8, 1934, three people were killed by a rockslide on the Storm King Highway, expediting plans for the new highway, known as the Storm King Cut-off. In April 1935, the Storm King Cut-Off was given the designation of NY 257. It was constructed in stages from 1937 to 1941, with the final segment of the highway (from Angola Road north to Blooming Grove Turnpike north of Cornwall-on-Hudson) opening to traffic on May 31, 1941. US 9W was realigned to follow the cut-off while its old route via the Storm King Highway became NY 218 in August 1941. During the forest fires on Storm King during the summer of 1999, NY 218 was closed for over a year, reopening in August 2000.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{NYSR external links, type=N, nyroutes=yes, termini=yes, route=218, alps=yes

218 Year 218 ( CCXVIII) 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 Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year 971 ''Ab urbe c ...

Transportation in Orange County, New York Hudson River Cornwall, New York Highlands, New York

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links