New York State Route 208
Route information | ||
---|---|---|
Maintained by NYSDOT | ||
Length | 34.81 mi[1] (56.02 km) | |
Existed | 1930[2]–present | |
Major junctions | ||
South end | NY 17M in Village of Monroe | |
North end | NY 32 / NY 299 in New Paltz | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | New York | |
Counties | Orange, Ulster | |
Highway system | ||
|
New York State Route 208 (NY 208) is a state highway located in southern New York in the United States. The southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 17M in the Orange County village of Monroe. Its northern terminus is located at an intersection with NY 32 and NY 299 in the Ulster County village of New Paltz.
NY 208 is a two-lane road for its entire length. While connecting two bustling villages and passing through three others, it is primarily a country road and offers a variety of scenery and points of interest, from fields and meadows to a riverside stretch and orchards devoted to apples. The northern third, between Wallkill and New Paltz, boasts a near-continuous view of the Shawangunk Ridge.
Route description
Orange County
From its southern terminus at a busy traffic light in
NY 208 crosses the village line rather quickly, going through some sharp curves as it enters more open farmland. Here, the highway also deviates from its northward course, heading much more westward as it picks up the
About a mile past the tunnel, NY 208 abruptly reaches
Shortly after leaving Maybrook, NY 208 reaches
North of I-84, the road remains a two-lane until it intersects with NY 17K at Scotts Corners. This intersection was redesigned and upgraded in 2008 to accommodate left and right turn lanes.
Continuing north, NY 208 goes around some mild bends past woods and fields. Here the highway offers its first view to the Shawangunks. In 2 miles (3.2 km) it reaches
The two roads make an unsigned concurrency for about two blocks of East Main Street before a traffic light separates them; traffic on NY 208 turns right, on Ulster Avenue, to continue north. This takes the traveler past some of Walden's older homes and Most Precious Blood Catholic school before finally leaving the village at the Tin Brook bridge, whereupon it almost immediately bends westward at the Lake Osiris Road junction for a short distance, curving north again when it reaches the Wallkill River.
Ulster County
The mile of highway along the Wallkill is at first wooded and curvy but then offers many pleasant riverside scenes. A burned-out former
Immediately east of the hamlet's business district, at Wallkill Library it turns right onto Main Street and takes a more easterly course out of town, past some rolling fields and
While remaining two-lane, the roadway itself is a little wider here, encouraging drivers to accelerate as the woodlots surrounding them give way to the cornfields of
As the drive continues, the Catskill Aqueduct crosses and recrosses the road several times and orchards become the primary agricultural use of the adjoining land. This is one of the state's prime apple-growing regions, and several local apple farmers sell fresh-pressed cider at their stands along the road in the fall.
The only traffic light along this stretch is at Ireland Corners, the slightly developed intersection with
.North of here, even better views of the Shawangunks open up with the
The views reach their peak at the
History
The earliest of the road segments that make up NY 208 dates to 1735, when a "Highway Deed" was drawn up for a segment in the
Designation
NY 208 was assigned to its current routing between
In 2006, the portion of the route between Washingtonville and New Paltz was also designated as
New Jersey connection
In the 1940s, the
Traffic congestion
The village of Walden noted in its 2005 Comprehensive Plan the difficulties created by the oblique intersection at the southern end of the NY 52 concurrency. Traffic on northbound NY 208 comes to a stop sign at the intersection, where NY 52 comes in from the right at a slightly lower grade and a sharp angle, with the view mostly blocked by a building. The layout of the intersection is very poor for trucks making this turn, and the congestion all these factors create has been forcing more drivers to resort to side streets, the village believed, since traffic counts have been going up on NY 52 and NY 208 but down on the concurrency. The village hoped to work with the state DOT on marking an alternate route for trucks, but as of now, no official solution has been reached.[13]
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orange | Village of Monroe | 0.00 | 0.00 | NY 17M – Harriman, Chester | |
I-86 ) | |||||
Washingtonville | 7.42 | 11.94 | NY 94 – Chester, Vails Gate | ||
hamlet of Burnside | |||||
11.23 | 18.07 | NY 207 east – Newburgh | Eastern terminus of NY 207 concurrency; hamlet of Burnside | ||
Middletown, Stewart International Airport | Exit 28 on I-84; hamlet of Morrison Heights | ||||
16.82 | 27.07 | NY 17K – Montgomery, Newburgh | Hamlet of Scotts Corner | ||
Walden | 19.43 | 31.27 | NY 52 east – Newburgh | Eastern terminus of NY 52 concurrency | |
19.49 | 31.37 | NY 52 west / Bank Street – Pine Bush | Western terminus of NY 52 concurrency | ||
Ulster | Shawangunk | 23.75 | 38.22 | NY 300 south – Newburgh | Northern terminus of NY 300; hamlet of Wallkill |
Ireland Corners | |||||
Village of New Paltz | 34.13 | 54.93 | Hawk Drive – State University of New York at New Paltz | ||
34.81 | 56.02 | NY 32 / NY 299 to New York Thruway – Kerhonkson, Rosendale, Highland | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
See also
- U.S. Roads portal
- New York (state) portal
- Hudson Valley portal
References
- ^ a b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. pp. 186–187. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ 1930 renumbering
- ^ "A Touch of Maybrook History". Village of Maybrook. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- Standard Oil Company of New York. 1930.
- Texas Oil Company. 1933.
- ^ Road Map of New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Texas Oil Company. 1934.
- ^ New York with Special Maps of Putnam–Rockland–Westchester Counties and Finger Lakes Region (Map) (1955–56 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1954.
- ^ New York with Special Maps of Putnam–Rockland–Westchester Counties and Finger Lakes Region (Map) (1957 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1956.
- ^ New York State Legislature. "New York State Highway Law § 341". Retrieved May 10, 2010.
- ^ Monroe Digital Raster Quadrangle (Map). 1:24,000. New York State Department of Transportation. 1991. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
- ^ New York State Department of Transportation (October 2007). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State.
- ^ "1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering". Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
- ^ "Transportation". Comprehensive Plan – Village of Walden, New York (PDF). Planit Main Street, Inc. August 2005. pp. 4–5. Retrieved November 6, 2010.[permanent dead link]
External links
- New York State Route 208 at Alps' Roads • New York Routes
- Unbuilt Orange Expressway info at NYCROADS.com