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 ...

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 ...

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

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 Delawa ...

Suffern Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.New Jersey Route 17. From the Pennsylvania border to the village of Waverly and from Binghamton to Windsor, NY 17 is concurrent with Interstate 86 (I-86). Eventually, the entire east–west portion of NY 17 from the Pennsylvania border to Woodbury will become I-86 as projects to upgrade the route 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 ...

are completed. At , NY 17 is the longest state route in New York, and is the second-longest highway of any kind in the state, beside the Thruway. It serves 11 counties ( Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, Broome,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

, Sullivan, Orange, and Rockland), passes through the cities of Salamanca, Olean, Corning, Elmira, and Binghamton, and enters the vicinity of several others, including Jamestown and Middletown. As it proceeds across the state, it intersects many of New York's Interstate and U.S. Highways, including U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Salamanca, I-99 and US 15 near Corning, I-81 in Binghamton, and

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

near Middletown. The portion of NY 17 in the vicinity of Waverly is actually located in Pennsylvania; however, it is maintained by the

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit systems ...

(NYSDOT). A very small portion of the route is concurrent with the Thruway in the area of Hillburn for less than and is therefore maintained by the

New York State Thruway Authority The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is a public benefit corporation in New York State, United States. The NYSTA was formed in 1950 with the responsibility of constructing, maintaining, and operating the New York State Thruway, a syste ...

, but otherwise NY 17 is maintained by NYSDOT. The route was assigned in 1924, extending from Westfield to Suffern via at-grade highways. It was moved onto the Quickway and the Southern Tier Expressway as sections of both were completed from the 1950s to the 1980s. Two of NY 17's suffixed routes, NY 17C and NY 17M, follow substantial portions of NY 17's pre-freeway alignment. In 1998, all of NY 17 between the Pennsylvania state line and Harriman was designated as "Future I-86". The westernmost of the route was designated as I-86 one year later, and the designation has been gradually extended eastward as sections of NY 17 were improved to Interstate Highway standards. Prior to the I-86 designation, NY 17 was part of a 3-state Route 17 along with New Jersey Route 17 and the former Pennsylvania Route 17 (PA 17).

Route description

Pennsylvania to Elmira

NY 17 begins at the point where I-86 crosses the New York–Pennsylvania border in Mina, Chautauqua County. I-86 heads westward from there to its western terminus at

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

. I-86 and NY 17 continue eastward 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 ...

, encountering NY 426 (exit 4) a short distance from the state line prior to meeting NY 76 (exit 6) south of Sherman. East of exit 8 ( NY 394), I-86 and NY 17 cross Chautauqua Lake and follow the lake shore eastward to Jamestown, where it connects to NY 60 at exit 12 due north of the city. East of the city, the expressway meets US 62 at exit 14 and is joined by the old

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 ...

line, which parallels the expressway as it heads across southern New York. Southern Tier Expressway

Between exits 17 and 18 ( NY 280), I-86 and NY 17 cross the Allegheny Reservoir near its northernmost extent. Past NY 280, the freeway runs adjacent to the northern extent of the Allegany State Park and follows the reservoir and the connecting

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...

eastward to Salamanca. Near downtown Salamanca, I-86 and NY 17 meet US 219 (exit 21). US 219 joins the expressway east to exit 23 near Carrollton, where it splits from I-86 and NY 17 and heads toward Bradford, Pennsylvania, forming the eastern edge of the state park as it heads south. Meanwhile, the expressway continues east to Olean, where it meets NY 417 (a previous alignment of NY 17) at exit 24 west of town and NY 16 (exit 27) north of the area. Past Olean, the route drifts northward away from Pennsylvania toward

Hornell Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...

, where I-86 and NY 17 intersect NY 36 (exit 34). To the east in Avoca, the Southern Tier Expressway meets I-390 at exit 36. I-86 and NY 17 southeast from the junction, passing through

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

on its way an interchange with I-99 and US 15 in Painted Post (exit 44). Here, I-99 and US 15 begin and head south toward Pennsylvania, while I-86 and NY 17 continue east through Corning to the city of Elmira. Roodscreek

Elmira to Harriman

From Elmira to Binghamton, NY 17, the Erie Railroad (now operated by Norfolk Southern as the Southern Tier Line), and its old alignments generally stay close together. They follow the Chemung River to exit 60 ( US 220 in South Waverly, Pennsylvania) and the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

from east of exit 61 ( Waverly, New York) to Binghamton; on the latter section, both NY 17C and NY 434 are old NY 17. Between the two rivers, which intersect in Pennsylvania, the general corridor runs just north of the state line in New York. However, NY 17 itself crosses into Pennsylvania for approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) between a point west of exit 60 and a point west of exit 61; additionally, all the ramps at exit 60 and portions of the eastbound ramps at exits 59A and 61 are in Pennsylvania. Despite being in Pennsylvania, it is still signed as NY-17, and these roadways are still maintained by the

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit systems ...

. At the Tioga County line near Waverly, I-86 temporarily terminates as NY 17 continues eastward toward

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

. Near downtown Binghamton, NY 17 goes around the side of Prospect Mountain at what is locally known as "

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

Curve". Heading eastbound, the freeway curves sharply left around the hillside, splits into ramps to I-81 north and south, and curves right to merge into I-81 south as it passes over the

Chenango River The Chenango River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissec ...

. From that point east and southeast about 5 miles (8 km), I-81 and NY 17 run concurrently. NY 17 splits from I-81, the Erie Railroad and the Susquehanna River to the east into

Stilson Hollow Stilson may refer to: Places * Stilson Canyon, California, United States * Stilson, Iowa, unincorporated community, United States * Stilson, Texas, unincorporated community, United States Given name *Stilson Hutchins (1838–1912) an American newspa ...

; from this split (exit 75) to its end, most of NY 17 does not follow the Erie Railroad, which crosses into Pennsylvania several times. I81NY17Merge2

At the end of Stilson Hollow, NY 17 heads over a summit and into the valley formed by the Occanum Creek. The creek empties into the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

at Windsor (exit 79), which NY 17 follows southeast to

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

(exit 80) before turning northeast along Tuscarora Creek. It soon turns east and southeast over a summit, rejoining the

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 ...

just north of Gulf Summit. The highway and railroad head east along

Oquaga Creek Oquaga Creek is a river in Broome County, New York, Broome County and Chenango County, New York, Chenango County in New York (state), New York. It flows into the West Branch Delaware River by Deposit (village), New York, Deposit, New York. Refere ...

to Deposit (exit 84), where they turn southeast along the West Branch Delaware River. A gap in the freeway stretches from here to just short of Hancock (exit 87), the place the West Branch joins with the East Branch Delaware River. The Erie Railroad continues southeast along the combined

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

, while NY 17 turns east along the valley formed by the East Branch, either closely following or built directly over the abandoned New York, Ontario and Western Railway to

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

.

At East Branch (exit 90), the East Branch Delaware River turns north, and NY 17 continues east with the

Beaver Kill The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York. The kill drains a Baldigo, Bar ...

to Roscoe (exit 94),

Willowemoc Creek Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of Beaver Kill. It is a popular trout fishing stream near the Catskill Park in Sullivan County, New York.Francis, Austin M. , ''Catskill Rivers: Birthplace of American Fly Fishing,'' Nick Lyons Press (1983) Ch. 9. ...

to Livingston Manor (exit 96), and

Little Beaver Kill Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film * The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John ...

to Parksville (exit 98). The highway and parallel NYO&W pass south over a summit to

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

(exits 99–100), and continue along the

Middle Mongaup River Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

to Ferndale (exit 101). The NYO&W turned east there, but NY 17 continues south over a summit and into the Spring Brook and

East Mongaup River East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

valleys past Harris (exit 102). NY 17 then cuts southeast cross-country to Monticello (exit 104; passing Monticello Raceway) and beyond, following the old Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike (old NY 17) to Bloomingburg (exit 116). The old Middletown and Wurtsboro Turnpike, also old NY 17, and partially NY 17M, runs south to Middletown, which NY 17 cuts cross-country to bypass to the east, rejoining NY 17M – and the main line of the

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 ...

– at Goshen (exit 123). NY 17, its old former alignment (NY 17M) and the Erie run generally east-southeast, partly cross-country and partly through small stream valleys, to the end of the freeway, the directional change in NY 17 from east–west to north–south, and the junction of the Erie with its branch to Newburgh.

Harriman to New Jersey

NY 17 heads southwest from the Quickway as an at-grade roadway, passing through the village of Woodbury before entering the village of Harriman, where it intersects with the eastern terminus of NY 17M. As the route heads southward from this junction, its signage changes from being east or west to north or south. The route parallels the Thruway as it proceeds through a disjointed piece of Harriman State Park and enters the town of

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

. While inside the park, NY 17 intersects Arden Valley Road, a highway that connects to Seven Lakes Drive deep inside the park. South of Arden Valley Road, NY 17 briefly exits Harriman State Park and enters the hamlet of

Southfields Southfields is a district of inner London located within the London Borough of Wandsworth, England, 5.6 miles (9 km) south-west of Charing Cross. Southfields is mainly residential, historically a part of Wandsworth itself, and is divided b ...

, where it intersects with County Route 19 (CR 19) and passes by the Red Apple Rest, a former restaurant and roadside attraction. Past the hamlet, the route heads back into the park and intersects with NY 17A and CR 106 near the park's western boundary. South of the junction, NY 17 leaves the Park and proceeds through a lightly populated area to the Village of Tuxedo Park. At the Tuxedo Park train station is access to some hiking trails in Harriman State Park. The route continues on, paralleling the Thruway into

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 ...

. On the other side of the county line, NY 17 enters the village of

Sloatsburg Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. Located east of Orange County, it is at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,039 at the 2010 census. The village is name ...

, where it meets Seven Lakes Drive and connects to CR 72 by way of a modified trumpet interchange. Outside of Sloatsburg, NY 17 winds its way southeasterly along the Ramapo River and the Thruway through the town of Ramapo to the hamlet of the same name, based just north of NY 17's junction with NY 59. Here, NY 17 turns to the southwest, meeting the Thruway at exit 15A before traversing a sparsely developed area of the village of Hillburn. About south of the Thruway, NY 17 curves to the east, passing to the south of the village center as it approaches

I-287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in N ...

. At Suffern Road, NY 17 becomes southbound only as it merges onto I-287 and proceeds to 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 Delawa ...

state line, where it connects to New Jersey's Route 17.

History

Origins

Before the automobile

From Binghamton to Corning, NY 17 follows the course of the Great Bend and Bath Turnpike, which was legislated in 1808 to continue the Cochecton and Great Bend Turnpike (US 11) through the Susquehanna Valley. The road ran from the Pennsylvania state line at Great Bend through Binghamton, Owego, and Elmira to Bath. In its day, it was a major route of travel through the Susquehanna Valley. Today, the road is designated US 11 from Pennsylvania to Binghamton, then NY 17C to Waverly, NY 352 into Corning, and NY 415 to Bath. The at-grade sections of NY 17 in Orange County follow the Orange Turnpike south of Southfields and the New Windsor and Cornwall Turnpike to its north.

Liberty Highway and Legislative Route 4

The original routing of NY 17, from Westfield to Harriman, was largely designated in 1908 by 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 ...

as Route 4, an unsigned legislative route. This routing was incorporated in 1918 as the main portion of an

auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers i ...

called the Liberty Highway, which connected

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

via Hackensack,

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, 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 ...

, and Erie. Legislative Route 4 began at legislative Route 18 (current US 20) in Westfield and proceeded southeast through Mayville to Jamestown on what is now NY 394 and NY 430. From there, the route headed generally eastward to Salamanca over modern NY 394, NY 242, and NY 353, and southeast to Olean via NY 417. At Olean, the route shifted northward, passing through Hinsdale,

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

, and Belvidere on current NY 16, NY 446 and Allegany County's CR 20 before returning southward on what is now NY 19 to access the village of Wellsville. SR 17 NY

From Wellsville to

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

and from

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref ...

to Corning, Route 4 followed modern NY 417. In between Andover and Jasper, however, Route 4 veered north on current

NY 21 New York State Route 21 (NY 21) is a state highway extending for about through the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 417 in the village of Andover, ...

and NY 36 to serve

Hornell Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...

. East of Corning, the alignment of legislative Route 4 ran along the Great Bend and Bath Turnpike, and more closely resembled the modern alignments of the Southern Tier Expressway and the Quickway. Route 4 exited Corning on what is now NY 352 and followed it to Big Flats, where it broke from NY 352 and proceeded to

Horseheads Horseheads is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Chemung County, New York, Chemung County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 19,412 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is derived from the number o ...

on Chemung CR 64 and to Elmira on what is now Lake Road, Madison Avenue and the east end of NY 352. Between Elmira and

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

, Route 4 followed either local roads that were bypassed or upgraded into the Southern Tier Expressway, namely modern NY 17 and Chemung and Tioga CR 60 from Elmira to Waverly, NY 17C between Waverly and Owego, NY 434 from Owego to Vestal, and NY 17C and Riverside Drive (via

NY 26 New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the Pennsylvania state line south of the town of Vestal in Broom ...

) from Vestal to Binghamton. Route 4 exited the city on US 11 and followed it to Kirkwood Center, a hamlet adjacent to the eastern junction of NY 17 and I-81. From this point to Harriman, except for one section near Middletown, the path Route 4 followed became the basis for the Quickway several decades later. Between Kirkwood Center and Hancock, Route 4 utilized what was later upgraded into the Quickway (via Broome CR 28 from Windsor to Deposit). East of here, it used parallel roads instead: modern "Old Route 17" (Delaware CR 17 and Sullivan CRs 179A to 174) from Deposit to Monticello, Sullivan CRs 173 to 171 between Monticello and Bloomingburg, and Orange CR 76 and NY 17M from Bloomingburg to Harriman. At Harriman, Route 4 broke from the Liberty Highway and proceeded northeast over current US 6 and NY 293 to Highland Falls, where it ended at legislative Route 3 (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 ...

). The portion of the Liberty Highway between

Suffern Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723. however, this designation was removed on March 1, 1921. Another auto trail, the West Shore Route, also followed this section of the Liberty Highway, but proceeded north from Harimman along modern-day NY 32.

Designation and early changes

When New York first signed its state highways with route numbers in 1924, much of legislative Route 4 was designated as NY 17. From Randolph to Salamanca, NY 17 followed the more southerly routing of the Liberty Highway instead of the Route 4 routing, bypassing Little Valley to the south in favor of a direct connection between Randolph and Salamanca (current NY 394 and NY 951T). In Vestal, NY 17 was routed along the south bank of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, bypassing Endicott and Johnson City on what is now NY 434 and Broome CR 44. Lastly, NY 17 broke from the path of legislative Route 4 in Harriman and followed the former Route 39-b south to 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 Delawa ...

state line at Suffern. As originally laid out, NY 17 was long. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 17 basically remained intact. The only changes made at this time were the straightening out of the Olean–Wellsville segment (now via Ceres) and the Andover–Jasper segment (now via Greenwood). NY 17 initially reached New Jersey by way of Suffern's Orange Avenue (now US 202) and connected to New Jersey's Route 2 at the state line. By 1932, an alternate route of NY 17 between the New Jersey state line at Hillburn and the hamlet of Ramapo on the western bank of the Ramapo River was designated as NY 339. The route largely followed the path of modern

I-287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in N ...

and the

New York State Thruway , direction_a = South , terminus_a = {{Jct, state=NY, I, 95 at the The Bronx, Bronx–Yonkers, New York City line , junction = {{plainlist, * {{jct, state=NY, I, 287, Parkway, Saw Mill, NY, 119 in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford * {{jct, state=NY, ...

between the two locations. It initially became a local road upon crossing into New Jersey; however, Route 2 was realigned to connect to NY 339 instead of NY 17. In the mid-1930s, the alignments of NY 17 and NY 339 south of Ramapo were flipped, placing NY 17 on the western route. By 1938, NY 17 was relocated onto a new highway through the Hillburn village limits. While the southern half of the new road utilized the old highway, the northern half veered to the west of both Hillburn and old NY 17, bypassing the village before rejoining the old road south of Ramapo.

Conversion to expressway

The explosive growth of the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

industry in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

region, which began in the 1930s and intensified after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, stretched the rural road to its limits. Scores of hotels, resorts and bungalow colonies attracted hundreds of thousands of vacationing New Yorkers, whose cars left the two-lane NY 17 hopelessly jammed in summer. Many towns, especially the fairly large city of Middletown, were paralyzed on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons in the summertime, as traffic passed through local downtowns and their traffic lights. In addition, the tight turns and steep inclines along the route led to numerous fatal crashes, including two milk tanker truck crashes in the mid-1950s. In response,

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

officials planned a four-lane replacement, the first free long-distance expressway in the state and one of the earliest in the United States. It would replace intersections with well-spaced access ramps, separate grades with flyovers, and allow safe travel at up to . Old_NY_17_through_Red_House

The first segment of the new highway extended from Fair Oaks to Goshen, bypassing the city of Middletown to the northeast. It opened to traffic in July 1951 as a realignment of NY 17. As more sections of the freeway—known as the Quickway—opened up during the 1950s and 1960s, NY 17 was moved onto them. The Quickway was completed by 1968, connecting Binghamton to Harriman by way of a continuous, mostly limited-access highway. Farther west, plans were also in the works to build an expressway across the Southern Tier. The highway was first proposed by New York Governor Thomas Dewey in 1953, and the first sections of the Southern Tier Expressway were completed in the mid-1960s. At the time, NY 17 followed the entirety of two of the four open sections ( Steamburg to Salamanca and Owego to the

Broome County Broome County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when B ...

line) and part of a third (Corning to Lowman via Elmira). Red House Bridge August 2015

As more continuous pieces of the expressway opened during the 1970s, NY 17 was realigned onto them, with much of NY 17's old alignment becoming NY 394, NY 417, or NY 17C. By 1980, the expressway was complete from Bemus Point to Binghamton except for two areas near Salamanca and Corning. Although NY 17 continued to extend northwestward along its original alignment from Bemus Point to Westfield, both highways were also designated as parts of NY 430 and NY 394 in anticipation of the completion of the Southern Tier Expressway west of Chautauqua Lake, which NY 17 would be rerouted to follow. This segment was built in stages during the 1980s as a

super two A super two, super two-lane highway or wide two-lane is a two-lane surface road built to highway standards with wide lanes and other safety features normally present on a freeway with more lanes, typically including partial control of access, ...

highway; it was widened to four lanes in 1997. The portions of the freeway in and around Salamanca and Corning were completed in the late 1980s and mid-1990s, completing the conversion of NY 17 into a continuous, mostly limited-access highway from the Pennsylvania state line to Harriman. On December 3, 1999, the westernmost of NY 17 were designated as part of I-86, a new route that had been written into law a year earlier. As legislated, I-86 will eventually extend eastward along the length of both the Southern Tier Expressway and the Quickway to the New York State Thruway in Harriman once both highways are brought up 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 ...

. I-86 was extended east to Horseheads in 2004 and Elmira in 2008; additionally, a stretch of NY 17 in central

Broome County Broome County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when B ...

was designated as I-86 in 2006. In September 2013, the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

(FHWA) approved a extension of the I-86 designation from exit 56 in Elmira to the Tioga county line. The remainder of NY 17 west of I-87 will be designated as I-86 after the remaining at-grade sections are eliminated and the highway is brought up to Interstate Highway standards.

Other developments

The

New York State Thruway Authority The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is a public benefit corporation in New York State, United States. The NYSTA was formed in 1950 with the responsibility of constructing, maintaining, and operating the New York State Thruway, a syste ...

converted the Harriman Toll Barrier at the interchange of NY 17 and I-87 (exit 16 on I-87) to cashless tolling. This included the creation of a solar photovoltaic energy generating facility (solar park) to help power the toll and maintenance facilities in Harriman, Woodbury, Spring Valley, and Nyack. Cashless tolling began on the night of September 27, 2018. This was a part of Governor Andrew Cuomo's goal to convert the entirety of the New York Thruway to cashless tolling. On August 9, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law that a portion of NY 17 was to be designated the "Dennis ‘Matt’ Howe Memorial Highway" from exit 63 in the hamlet of Lounsberry to exit 62 in the village of Nichols. On March 18, 2019, Howe passed away from injuries sustained when a tractor-trailer collided with his DOT truck as he and others were performing highway safety work on NY 17. The signs were unveiled and the dedication ceremony was held on October 29, 2019. 3b2a3b 5a8bcc382d3744b79f90d3f31477f1a1 mv2 d 4000 3000 s 4 2

3b2a3b 5a8bcc382d3744b79f90d3f31477f1a1 mv2 d 4000 3000 s 4 2

In November 2019, NYSDOT completed the reconstruction of exit 131 along NY 17. As part of the project, a

diverging diamond interchange A diverging diamond interchange (DDI), also called a double crossover diamond interchange (DCD), is a subset of diamond interchange in which the opposing directions of travel on the non- freeway road cross each other on either side of the in ...

was built at the exit to improve access between NY 17 and NY 32. Also as part of the project, NY 32 was widened to three lanes to each way; CR 64 / Nininger Road was extended to

Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is an outlet center located in Central Valley, New York. The center is owned by Premium Outlets, a subsidiary of Simon Property Group, and takes its name from the town in which it is located. Opened in late 1985, ...

; and exit ramps were built from NY 32 north and NY 32 south to meet Nininger Road at two respective traffic circles. In addition, a new park-and-ride was built, and the ramp from NY 17 west to Woodbury Common was demolished. NY 17 exit 125

In December 2020, NYSDOT completed construction of a new exit 125, which was built to accommodate the new

Legoland New York Legoland New York Resort is a theme park in Goshen, New York owned by Merlin Entertainments. Consisting of seven Lego themed lands on a property of . The park contains numerous structures and attractions made of Lego or designed to resemble Leg ...

. As part of the project, a four-ramp parclo was built, which replaced the prior exit 125, located west. NY 17 was expanded to three lanes in each direction between exits 124 and 125. Harriman Drive was expanded to two lanes in each direction between the exit and Legoland's entrance.

Future

Widening in Orange and Sullivan counties

NYSDOT has requested proposals for plans to widen NY 17 between the Thruway in Orange County and the town of Liberty in Sullivan County. The widening is supported by th
17-Forward-86 coalition
several state senators, and various businesses and organizations in the area.

Major intersections

Suffixed routes

NY 17 has had 13 suffixed routes bearing 11 different designations. Five are still assigned to their routes, while eight have been removed or renumbered. A fourteenth, NY 17L, was proposed in 1939 as part of current NY 97, but canceled. *The NY 17A designation has been used for two distinct highways: **The first NY 17A was an alternate route of NY 17 between Randolph and Salamanca via Little Valley. It was assigned in the mid-1920s and renumbered to NY 17H in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. **The current NY 17A () is an alternate route of NY 17 between Goshen and

Southfields Southfields is a district of inner London located within the London Borough of Wandsworth, England, 5.6 miles (9 km) south-west of Charing Cross. Southfields is mainly residential, historically a part of Wandsworth itself, and is divided b ...

that connects NY 17 to

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

in Orange County. It was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering. * NY 17B () is a spur of NY 17 connecting Monticello to NY 97 in Callicoon. When it was originally assigned in 1930, it also extended northward to Hancock via modern NY 97. * NY 17C () is an alternate route of NY 17 between Waverly and

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

in Tioga and Broome counties. The western terminus of the route was initially located in Owego upon being assigned in 1930. * NY 17D was a spur of NY 17 in the vicinity of Elmira,

Chemung County Chemung County is a county in the southern tier of the U.S. state of New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira. Its name is derived from a Delaware Indian village whose name meant "big horn". Chem ...

that ran from downtown Elmira to the

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, ...

border east of Wellsburg. The route, assigned in 1930, was renumbered to NY 427 in the early 1940s. * NY 17E was an alternate route of NY 17 between Big Flats and Elmira in Chemung County. The route, assigned in 1930, was renumbered to NY 352 in October 1966 after local community pressure. * NY 17F was an alternate route of NY 17 between

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, Allegany County, and Addison, Steuben County. The route, assigned in 1930, was a northerly alternate route of NY 17 that served

Hornell Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...

and Canisteo. NY 17F was removed in the early 1940s and is now

NY 21 New York State Route 21 (NY 21) is a state highway extending for about through the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 417 in the village of Andover, ...

, NY 36 and Steuben County's CR 119. * NY 17G was a spur assigned in 1930 to what is now NY 248 south of NY 417. It became part of an extended NY 248 in the early 1940s. *The NY 17H designation has been used for two distinct highways: **The first NY 17H was an alternate route of NY 17 between Randolph and Salamanca via Little Valley in

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was create ...

. It was assigned in 1930 and removed . The route became part of an extended NY 242 west of Little Valley and remained part of NY 18 (which NY 17H overlapped) east of the village (that portion of NY 18 became NY 353 in 1962). **The second NY 17H was a spur route of NY 17 in the vicinity of

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

. The route began at NY 17 in Binghamton and followed Riverside Drive west and north to Johnson City, where it ended at NY 17C. It was assigned by 1940 and partially replaced with NY 201 in September 1971. * NY 17J was a westerly alternate route of NY 17 between Mayville and Jamestown along the western edge of Chautauqua Lake. It was assigned in 1930 and supplanted by NY 394 in November 1973. * NY 17K () is a spur linking NY 17 in Bloomingburg to

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 ...

and

NY 32 New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District, New York, Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is a two-lane sur ...

in Newburgh, Orange County. It was assigned . * NY 17M () is the former routing of NY 17 in Orange County. The route begins north of Middletown in Fair Oaks and rejoins NY 17 in Harriman. It was assigned in 1951.

References

External links

Original configuration for I-87/I-287/NY 17 interchange in Suffern (Empire State Roads)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:New York State Route 017

017 Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

Route description

Pennsylvania to Elmira

Elmira to Harriman

Harriman to New Jersey

History

Origins

Before the automobile

Liberty Highway and Legislative Route 4

Designation and early changes

Conversion to expressway

Other developments

Future

Widening in Orange and Sullivan counties

Major intersections

Suffixed routes

See also

References

External links