New York State Route 7 (mid-1920s–1927)

U.S. Route 20 (US 20) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Newport, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, US 20 extends from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshires. US 20 is the longest surface road in New York. It runs near the Lake Erie shore from Ripley to Buffalo and passes through the southern suburbs of Buffalo, the Finger Lakes, the glacial moraines of Central New York, and the city of Albany before crossing into Massachusetts. US 20 connects to all three major north–south Interstate Highways in Upstate New York: Interstate 390 (I-390) near Avon, I-81 south of Syracuse, and I-87 in Albany by way of Fuller Road Alternate.

With the exception of Albany, it passes directly through no major cities of the state, bypassing Syracuse and Utica by great distances to the south while the New York State Thruway and New York State Route 5 (NY 5), which share its corridor, pass right through or close to them. It skirts the southern and eastern suburbs of Buffalo. It is, however, a major artery in many of the outlying areas it passes through in the hilly fringes of the Allegheny Plateau, often expanding to four lanes (it has no limited-access sections, although many intersecting roads are grade-separated) with extensive commercial strip development. One of these sections, the easterly of two concurrencies with NY 5 across the northern Finger Lakes, is the second-longest surface-road concurrency in New York, behind only the concurrency of I-86 and NY 17 in the Southern Tier, extending from Avon to Auburn.

From Oneida County to Albany, the road follows the historic Cherry Valley Turnpike, built at the beginning of the 19th century to connect Albany and, at the time, the important villages of Sharon Springs, Cherry Valley, Richfield Springs, Cazenovia, and Skaneateles. US 20 itself was assigned in 1926 and was the state's main east–west route from that time until the Thruway was completed in the 1950s.

Route description

US 20 enters Western New York closely paralleling the Lake Erie shoreline, the Thruway and NY 5. Passing through the southeastern suburbs of Buffalo, it assumes a due-east heading at Depew, taking it to the NY 5 overlap in Avon. The two roads pass through many of the communities at the north ends of the larger Finger Lakes, splitting in Auburn. Through Central New York and the Central New York Region to its east, US 20 drifts south into the rugged upper reaches of the Allegheny Plateau, distancing itself from the Thruway and NY 5 by as much as at some points.

In the Capital District, the three routes all converge again, and US 20 goes right through downtown Albany, the largest city along its route in New York. Just before crossing the Hudson River, US 20 is joined again by US 9 for its second-longest concurrency, which ends just before the Thruway's Berkshire section in Schodack Center. From there, it drifts southward into the Berkshires, crossing the Massachusetts state line west of Pittsfield.

All but of US 20's alignment in New York is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). In Cayuga County, the section of US 20 in Auburn between NY 38A and the eastern city line is maintained by the city of Auburn. To the east in Albany County, the of US 20 in Albany from the western city line to the north end of the NY 32 overlap is also city-maintained.

Western New York

From the state line to the Buffalo suburbs, US 20 is largely a two-lane through road on the same northeastern heading it has followed most of the way from Cleveland. It serves as the main street of the few communities it passes directly through. In the Buffalo area, US 20 begins to head more east, widening to four lanes and becoming a busy regional artery that intersects many other roads of major and minor importance. For the leading into Depew, it runs due north along with NY 78 as part of Transit Road, a busy commercial strip east of the city. At Depew, US 20 leaves Transit Road and begins its journey east across the state. The surrounding countryside returns to farmland by the Genesee County line.

Lake Erie

US 20 enters New York immediately after passing through State Line, Pennsylvania. It remains on the northeasterly course it has been following as I-90, now the New York State Thruway, veers between it and what is now NY 5 in order to remain on level ground. This section of US 20 hugs the foot of the beach ridge to the south of Lake Erie, which is sometimes visible from sections of the highway, in Chautauqua County. A mile and a half () east of the state line, Shortman Road (unsigned NY 950D) leaves to the left for exit 61, the westernmost interchange on the Thruway. Shortly afterward, US 20 reaches its first settlement in New York, the hamlet of Ripley, where it intersects NY 76, the first touring route along US 20 in the state.

Another of two-lane rural road, crossed at its midpoint by the onetime New York Central Railroad and now CSX Transportation mainline, brings US 20 into its first incorporated community, the village of Westfield. Here, NY 394 intersects US 20 in the middle of town on its way to the Thruway's next exit and the hamlet of Barcelona, where it encounters NY 5 and the lake. Beyond Westfield, US 20 begins to drift south, coming further inland as it heads northeast. to the east, it reaches Fredonia, the largest village along its route so far. 20 intersects with NY 60 at Reed Corners at the eastern edge of Fredonia, which heads north to the neighboring city of Dunkirk. east, NY 39 becomes the first state route to end at US 20. It makes a loop of nearly through the interior of the state to return to US 20 in the Finger Lakes.

Past this junction, the Thruway and US 20 begin to converge in flatter country until they cross as US 20 veers northward south of Silver Creek. US 20 Truck splits off from US 20 in the center of town and rejoins its parent northeast of the village. This portion of the truck route is cosigned as NY 5, and the first of two overlaps between US 20 and NY 5 begins here. The road resumes its northeasterly course to an access road to the Thruway's exit 58 at Irving. After crossing Cattaraugus Creek

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