Interstate 84 in New York

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Major intersections
East end I-84 at the Connecticut state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountiesOrange, Dutchess, Putnam
Highway system
NY 84

Interstate 84 (I-84) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the eastern United States. In New York, I-84 extends 71.46 miles (115.00 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Port Jervis to the Connecticut state line east of Brewster. As it heads east–west across the mid Hudson Valley, it goes over two mountain ranges and crosses the Hudson River at the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

It is the only

routine maintenance was performed by the New York State Thruway Authority under yearly contract from DOT. The New York State Bridge Authority
charges a toll for eastbound traffic crossing the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

Construction of the highway began later than other Interstates in New York as legal hurdles to the construction of the bridge had to be removed, and federal funding was more limited when it finally began in 1960. It was completed 12 years later, becoming a major commercial artery and mainstay of the Hudson Valley economy and offering travelers a view of some of the state's scenic areas in the Shawangunks and Hudson Highlands.

Route description

I-84 passes through three counties. The entire stretch between the Delaware and Hudson, more than half the road's total length in New York alone, is in Orange County. East of the river the road begins in Dutchess County and then drops southward into Putnam County. As an Interstate Highway, all of I-84 in New York is included in the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.[3]

Two other highways parallel the Interstate for some length.

Fishkill and remains parallel from there to Lake Carmel
.

West of the Hudson River (Orange County)

Tri-State Rock
in the foreground

I-84 enters New York near

Tri-State Rock, where New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania converge.[4] For its first mile in New York, the Interstate is immediately north of the New Jersey state line in the city of Port Jervis. The first exit is signed for US 6 and New Jersey Route 23
, which begins just south of the exit.

US 6 remains parallel to the north of the freeway as I-84 begins an immediate climb away from the state line up the Shawangunk Ridge, beginning an east-northeast slant in its direction that will continue for almost 30 miles (48 km). The roadway crests at 1,275 feet (389 m), its highest elevation in New York. Scenic overlooks on either side allow travelers to stop and take in the expansive view of Port Jervis, the lower Neversink valley and adjacent regions of Pennsylvania. On the descent, US 6 crosses under the Interstate again, reachable by a short drive south on Mountain Road at exit 4.

East of the Shawangunks it is 13 miles (21 km) to the next exit. The freeway winds through

I-86
, another mile farther to the east.

Farmland in central Orange County

This junction is the western corner of Orange County's "golden triangle" of Interstates, so-called for its attractiveness to businesses for their

distribution centers.[5][6] Immediately afterward I-84 passes between the Galleria at Crystal Run, the county's largest mall, and the eponymous office park to the south. More farms begin to break up the landscape off the road. Westbound traffic is served by the Wallkill rest area four miles (6 km) east of Route 17. The tracks of Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line runs just north of the highway for a short distance, and NY 211 also parallels for several miles past the hills of Highland Lakes State Park
.

After crossing the

Yellow Freight's (Now YRC) large presence in Maybrook,[8] and rail-to-truck transload facility in the old Maybrook Freight train yard. In the area is a Staples warehouse[9] north of the Interstate along NY 208 and numerous distribution centers (Home Depot, Do-it-Best and others) and truck terminals (including UPS, FedEx and 3 others), along an adjacent roadway on the south side. The highway continues, now almost due east, of this exit through more wooded area, forming the northern border of Stewart State Forest, for four miles (6.4 km) to the recently built exit with NY 747 intended to improve access to nearby Stewart International Airport
.

A mile beyond, the road reaches the first of four exits serving

between the Interstate and the airport.

The freeway resumes its eastern heading again and descends a gentle slope to its junction with the New York State Thruway (I-87) and NY 300. Traffic was routed to the Thruway via a short section of 300 when the Interstate was built, but a major project to build a connector directly to the toll road was completed in December 2009, after being under construction for five years.[13][14][15]

Newburgh–Beacon Bridge

After passing through a rock cut, I-84 levels off and begins following the northern border of the city of Newburgh, where first NY 52 joins it, beginning the only concurrency with the Interstate in the state. A mile and a half (2.4 km) east, US 9W and NY 32 provide the last exit before the road crosses the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge, with views of Newburgh Bay and the Hudson Highlands to the south.

East of the Hudson River (Dutchess and Putnam counties)

The bridge also crosses Metro-North's

Dutchess Stadium, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, to the north and then the large open area between Downstate and Fishkill state prisons, where signs warn motorists not to stop. To the south a panoramic view from Beacon to Schunemunk
mountains is available.

US 9 near I-84 in Fishkill

The road resumes its eastern heading and descends slightly to the next exit, where NY 52 leaves the freeway for the village of

Poughkeepsie
.

It begins to climb into the hills east of this exit, passing through some rock cuts in the four miles (6.4 km) to the Lime Kiln Road exit, which allows easy access to a nearby former IBM facility now known as Hudson Valley Research Park.[17] From there it descends gently over two miles (3.2 km), with Hosner Mountain looming to the east, to the sprawling interchange with the Taconic State Parkway. It ascends again afterwards, passing scenic overlooks on either side that allow views of the valley and the Catskills to the northwest. At the crest, near where the Appalachian Trail crosses over, signs indicate the road has once again reached 1,000 feet (305 m) in elevation.

I-84 begins to veer to the south at this point, and soon it descends through some rock cuts to cross into

Southeast
train station.

Long overpass at Brewster

After a quarter-mile-long (400 m) bridge over the Croton River, US 6, US 202 and NY 22 just north of Brewster, the Interstate returns to its eastern heading for the northern terminus of I-684, an exit that also provides access to the other three highways. For eastbound travelers this is the last exit in New York.

US 6 and US 202 closely parallel I-84 to the north, between the freeway and one of the upper basins of East Branch Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply system. The northern terminus of NY 121 lets eastbound traffic on and westbound traffic off. Two miles (3.2 km) to the east, Signs appear for Saw Mill Road, exit 1 on Connecticut's stretch of I-84, and its ramps leave the highway just a hundred feet (30 m) before the state line.

History

1950s: Planning

The route of what became I-84 through New York state began in the late 1940s, when the then-New York State Department of Public Works (now NYSDOT) was planning Gov.

Thomas Dewey's proposed Thruway system. The plan was for the Thruway's main line to cross the river between Newburgh and Beacon, an area then in the middle of a 30-mile (48 km) gap in fixed river crossings. The remainder of the expressway would be toll-free.[2]

Politicians in the Newburgh area had also been lobbying for a bridge over Newburgh Bay, as the ferry service in that section of the river was becoming financially nonviable. In 1951 they were able to authorize test boring in the riverbed to see if a bridge was feasible. It was, but their counterparts further up the river got legislation passed that prohibited any construction of the Newburgh Bay bridge until the Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge was completed.

By the early 1950s the road plan had changed. The Thruway had been rerouted to cross the Hudson at the present site of the

Averell Harriman administration, state officials changed it back to a free road in order to get federal funding for the project. It remained on paper as other New York Interstates got underway.[2]

Assemblyman Lee Mailler of Cornwall, that body's majority leader, was able to get the bridge construction prohibition repealed in 1954. A bond issue the next year made the first money available for the construction of both the Kingston and Newburgh bridges. In 1959, it looked it would be delayed again when the federal funding formula was changed and less money was available, making a four-lane bridge too expensive to construct.[18]

1960s–70s: Construction

Construction began in 1960 after the new governor,

heavy local opposition. I-87 was routed to join I-84 at Brewster (where it would have followed the route of the current I-684). The first segment, the 16 miles (26 km) between the Thruway mainline in the Town of Newburgh and US 9 in Fishkill, was opened November 2, 1963.[2] The Newburgh–Beacon Bridge crossed nearly two miles (3.2 km) of Newburgh Bay and led to the last run of the original Newburgh–Beacon Ferry the day after it opened.[18]

The following year the eastern terminus of the new Interstate was extended to the Taconic State Parkway. The rest of the route would be slowed by both the hilly terrain and local resistance over what was felt to be inadequate eminent domain payments to affected landowners. In 1970 the road was complete to NY 311, with the former route of I-87 re-designated as I-684, and no concurrency along the Interstate save the seven miles (11 km) shared with NY 52. A year later, all the mileage east of the river was open. The last segment finished was the one between NY 208 and the Thruway.[2][19]

Effect on western Orange County state highways

The highway's route number prompted the renumbering of several existing state routes in western Orange County, where there was already an

Route 84 to Route 284 to match New York renumbering NY 84 to NY 284.[22]

Improvements

Closeup of mid-century USGS Montgomery quad showing NY 84/416 along current route of NY 211.

With I-84 complete soon after from

bottlenecks at either end of the bridge. In 1975 a second span was approved. It was opened on November 1, 1980, almost 17 years to the day traffic first crossed the original span. Two lanes could still not handle all the traffic, and four years later, in 1984, the old bridge was reopened after renovations.[2][19]

Thruway Authority maintenance sign at onramps, 1991–2010

In 1991, with New York facing a large budget deficit,

Cross-Westchester Expressway (I-287), to the cash-rich New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) as one way of closing it. No tolls could be charged since the roads were built with federal money, and the DOT remained in charge of large capital projects, but the Thruway Authority took over routine maintenance. During this time two interchanges were expanded and a new one created. The authority had the option of, at any time, returning the road to the state's control at a year's notice.[23]

The first was the US 9 exit, revamped in 1999 at a cost of $25 million.[16] I-84 was widened in both directions approaching the exit, a second overpass was added and the exit ramps were widened and signage improved. Around that time the two agencies also announced plans, and received federal funding, to redo the current exit 36 allowing traffic to go directly between I-84 and the Thruway instead of using a short stretch of NY 300, which by then was more heavily developed than it had been when the Interstates were first built. The three-phase construction project was initialized in May 2003[24] and completed in December 2009.[25]

The new exit also replaced 13 old buildings with a few new ones: a separate toll plaza to handle traffic entering the Thruway (the existing toll plaza is now dedicated to exiting traffic), offices and garages for NYSTA and the New York State Police. The new buildings use green techniques to minimize energy use such daylighting and rainwater collection. The ramps have been rerouted, using six new bridges and five new miles (8.0 km) of roadway, so that almost all traffic from routes 17K and 300 now use the latter route to access both Interstates. The existing connector from the toll plaza to NY 17K remains as an E-ZPass–only lane from that highway to the northbound Thruway.[26]

Exit 32 (formerly exit 5A) under construction in early 2007

After lengthy litigation by

New York City metropolitan area
's fourth major airport.

The Thruway Authority's involvement with the road would have ended in 2006 when its board voted to transfer the highway back to the state DOT, a move it suggested did not commit it to doing so. The proceeds would have covered NYSTA's expenses in eliminating the toll barrier for a year on

union representation.[23]

mowing along the entire highway save the bridge.[23] The DOT picked up the cost of having state police Troop T, which patrols the Thruway, continue to cover I-84. This agreement was renewed in 2008.[28]


In 2010, maintenance fully reverted to DOT. With the state facing financial difficulties in the
slow economy, Governor David Paterson decided that DOT could save a few million dollars doing the work itself. In August of that year, the department bought $6 million worth of new equipment and hired 54 new employees to handle maintenance duties on the highway.[29] In October 2010, Thruway insignia and signs indicating its maintenance responsibilities were removed from the roadway, and authority employees assigned to the road began transferring to jobs elsewhere, after the union waived several contract provisions to smooth the transfer. New York State Troopers who patrolled the road were reassigned from Thruway-based Troop T to Troop F in Orange County and Troop K in Dutchess and Putnam Counties, which cover the west and east sides of the Hudson respectively. At the DOT's request, the two state police substations in Wallkill and East Fishkill remained open.[30]

In 2019, a $13.9 milion project was completed that rebuilt the overpass carrying traffic over US 9W in Newburgh, in order to provide better clearance for truck traffic below on Route 9W and to meet current interstate highway standards.[31]

Signage awaiting installation during the renumbering, stored in Newburgh

Also in 2019, the exits were renumbered from sequential to mile-based as part of a sign replacement project by NYSDOT, in accordance with

MUTCD regulations.[32] The Putnam County section of I-84 was changed to mile-based in June, with Dutchess County's exits renumbered before September 2. As of February 2020
exits west of the Hudson have been fully renumbered up to the NY 17 interchange. Eastbound, NY 208 is fully renumbered in that direction but has both exit numbers on its signage approaching eastbound.

Incidents

Many

traffic accidents, some fatal, have caused traffic jams and closures since I-84 was opened. One was notable for the type of vehicle involved; another led to a still-open murder
investigation.

Air accident

On August 6, 1976, drivers along I-84 near exit 18 (NY 311; now exit 61) in the Putnam County town of Patterson saw a low-flying helicopter cross over the Interstate and then get entangled in the power lines passing overhead. The craft flipped over and fell onto the eastbound lanes of the highway. Both pilot and passenger were killed, and 4,000 customers in the area lost power. A traffic backup of several miles was rerouted onto the road's shoulder around the crash site until the road was reopened two and a half hours later.[19] The National Transportation Safety Board investigated and ruled the cause to be pilot error.[33]

Murder investigation

Sketch of the man Aderson described as his killer.

A

cell phone a description of his assailant and the vehicle before dying at the scene. A police sketch based on Aderson's description has been widely circulated and is still posted prominently in kiosks at the freeway's rest areas. The case has been dramatized on both America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries.[34][35]

2023 bus crash

On September 21, 2023, a chartered bus carrying ninth-grade members of the Farmingdale High School marching band from Long Island to a weekend at a camp in Pennsylvania suffered a tire failure along westbound I-84 in Wawayanda near Slate Hill and rolled down a 50-foot (15 m) slope into the highway's median strip. Many students were injured, some critically, and two adults on the bus were killed. The highway was closed in both directions between exits 4 and 15 (formerly exits 2 and 3), with traffic diverted onto US 6, in order to clear the accident and create a landing zone for helicopters to evacuate the most seriously injured to Westchester Medical Center.[36] At the end of the year, the Federal Highway Administration approved the addition of a crash gate for emergency vehicles, the absence of which had hampered response to the crash, along that stretch of the interstate.[37]

Exit list

I-84 exits within New York were changed from sequential numbering to mile-based numbering in 2019.[38]

CountyLocationmi[1][39]kmOld exitNew exit[40]DestinationsNotes
I-84 west – Scranton
Continuation into Pennsylvania
CR 15
; northern terminus of Route 23
Greenville3.405.47Parking Area
4.767.6624 Mountain Road (
CR 35
)
Middletown
Signed as exits 15A (east) and 15B (west)
16.9027.20Middletown Rest Area (eastbound)
Future I-86 / NY 17 – New York City, Binghamton
Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west); exits 121W-E on NY 17
23.6338.03Middletown Rest Area (westbound)
Montgomery28.7846.32528 NY 208 – Maybrook, WaldenTo Orange County Airport
Town of Newburgh32.9953.095A32 NY 747 – Stewart AirportExit opened 2007[41]
34.1454.94634
Newburgh
To Stewart Air National Guard Base
36.5458.817A36A
I-87 Toll / New York Thruway – Albany, New York City
Exit 17 on I-87 / Thruway; exit opened 2009
7B36B
NY 17K
37.4460.25837
NY 52 west – Walden
Western end of NY 52 concurrency
39.0462.831039
Newburgh, Highland
Signed as exits 39A (south) and 39B (north) westbound; to Newburgh–Beacon Ferry
Hamilton Fish Newburgh–Beacon Bridge
(eastbound toll only)
NY 52 Bus. east – Beacon, Wappingers Falls, Cold Spring
To Beacon station and Newburgh–Beacon Ferry
44.7772.051244


NY 52 Bus. west – Fishkill
Eastern end of NY 52 concurrency; NY 52 Bus. not signed
46.2474.421346
Poughkeepsie, Peekskill
Signed as exits 46A (south) and 46B (north) westbound; to Hudson Valley Regional Airport
CR 27
(Lime Kiln Road / iPark Boulevard)
52.6484.721652 Taconic State Parkway – Albany, New York CitySigned as exits 52A (south) and 52B (north); exits 37A-B on Taconic State Parkway
55.2088.84
Stormville
Rest Area
CR 43
south (Ludingtonville Road)
NY 52 not signed; northern terminus of CR 43
PutnamKentPatterson line61.8099.461861 NY 311 – Lake Carmel, Patterson
Carmel, Brewster
To Southeast station; former NY 52; Brewster not signed westbound
68.30109.922068
Signed as exits 68A (I-684) and 68B (NY 22) eastbound; exits 9E-W on I-684
69.26111.462169

NY 121 to US 6 / US 202 – North Salem, Brewster
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
71.46115.00
I-84 east – Danbury
Continuation into Connecticut
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Interchange Listing with Mileposts". New York State Thruway Authority. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Anderson, Steve. "Interstate 84-New York Historic Overview". NYCRoads. Retrieved January 12, 2009.[self-published source]
  3. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (September 26, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  4. ^ Graff, Bill (Summer 2006). "Sentinels at the Northern Border" (PDF). Unearthing New Jersey. Vol. 2, no. 2. New Jersey Geological Survey.
  5. ^ Doherty, John (December 13, 2005). "Drivers face risky ride on jam-packed I-84". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2009. that stretch of I-84 – dubbed the Golden Triangle by traffic experts for its proximity to Route 17 and the New York Thruway
  6. ^ Scott, Brendan (July 24, 2006). "Diana recycling Water Loop plan". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2009. Then: Hoping to feed Orange County's growing thirst, County Executive Louis Heimbach lays plans for a huge circular water system, a 'water loop,' to link the 'Golden Triangle' framed by Route 17 and Interstates 84 and 87.
  7. ^ "Maybrook, New York #210". TravelCenters of America. Retrieved January 17, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  8. Yellow Transportation
    . 1994–2009. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  9. ^ "Staples Purchases Multi-channel Fulfillment Center in Montgomery, New York; New Site Enables Staples to Better Serve Contract, Catalog and E-Commerce Customers" (Press release). September 28, 2000. Retrieved January 17, 2009 – via Business Wire.
  10. Pilot Travel Centers
    . 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  11. ^ "Location Details". FedEx. 1995–2009. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  12. ^ "Stewart International Airport". Town of New Windsor. 2008. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009. ... the U.S. Postal Service general mail facility is located at Stewart.
  13. ^ Rife, Judy (July 14, 2009). "New I-87 ramp nearly done". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. p. 31. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  14. ^ Rife, Judy (September 22, 2009). "I-84/87 interchange 90% done". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. p. 28. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  15. ^ Fitzpatrick, Meghan (December 8, 2009). "Interchange Creates A True 'Crossroad'". The Sentinel. New Windsor, NY. p. 1.
  16. ^ a b Bagli, Charles (October 31, 1998). "Gap to Create 1,000 Jobs at Fishkill Site". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2009. The company, which is based in San Francisco and owns the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic clothing chains, is buying a 200-acre tract at Interstate 84 and Route 9 in the Merrit Park section of Fishkill and is expecting to begin construction in January ... Gap said the site was all the more attractive because the State Department of Transportation is completing a $28 million project to reconfigure the intersection of Interstate 84 and Route 9, which has been a traffic bottleneck
  17. ^ "Buildings and Sites". Dutchess County. February 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2012. The facility is located on I-84, just 18 miles [29 km] east of the New York State Thruway and only 90 minutes north of New York City
  18. ^ a b "New York State Bridge Authority Newburgh–Beacon Bridge Page". New York State Bridge Authority. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
  19. ^ a b c "From Dirt Roads to the Interstate Highway". Town of Patterson. 2006–2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  20. Rand McNally and Company. Sinclair Oil Corporation
    . 1964.
  21. ^ New York (Map) (1969–70 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1968.
  22. ^ New Jersey (Map). Cartography by American Oil Company. American Oil Company. 1968.
  23. ^ a b c Rife, Judy (March 31, 2007). "Bonacic wins war over I-84; Thruway Authority to remain in charge". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  24. ^ "I-84/I-87 Interchange 17 Reconstruction Project". New York State Thruway Authority. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  25. ^ "Thruway Authority Announces Completion of Project to Connect I-87 & I-84" (Press release). New York State Thruway Authority. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  26. ^ Rife, Judy (April 13, 2008). "I-84, Thruway soon to meet". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  27. ^ Rife, Judy (October 30, 2006). "I-84 maintenance could be at stake". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  28. ^ Rife, Judy (April 14, 2008). "Thruway Authority gets $10.3M to maintain I-84". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  29. ^ Rife, Judy (August 24, 2010). "DOT prepares to resume Interstate 84 care". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  30. ^ Rife, Judy (October 11, 2010). "DOT takes over maintenance on I-84". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  31. ^ Rife, Judy (November 20, 2019). "I-84/9W bridge project completed early and under budget". Times Herald-Record.
  32. ^ Rife, Judy. "State will convert current I-84 exit signs to mileage-based numbers". recordonline.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  33. ^ "NYC76AN120". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  34. ^ Lynch, Elizabeth (February 4, 2002). "5 years after road rage killing on Interstate 84, mystery remains". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  35. ^ "Memorial to making a difference". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. February 12, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  36. ^ Fadulu, Lola; Nir, Sarah Maslin (September 21, 2023). "Two Dead and Dozens Injured as Bus Carrying High School Students Crashes". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  37. Times-Herald Record
    . Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  38. ^ "2018-11-29".
  39. ^ "2014 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 22, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  40. ^ "Interstate 84 Guide Signs, Pennsylvania to Connecticut, S.H. Various, Orange, Dutchess, Putnam Counties". New York State Department of Transportation. May 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  41. ^ Randall, Michael (November 20, 2007). "Drury Lane interchange opens in time for holidays". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved January 22, 2009. A ceremony at 1:30 p.m. today will celebrate the official dedication and opening of the long-awaited Drury Lane interchange that will allow drivers to get from Interstate 84 to the airport more directly.
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Interstate 84
Previous state:
Pennsylvania
New York Next state:
Connecticut