New York State Route 59
Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NYSDOT | ||||
Length | 14.08 mi[1] (22.66 km) | |||
Existed | late 1920s[2][3]–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | I-87 / New York Thruway / NY 17 in Ramapo | |||
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East end | US 9W in Nyack | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | New York | |||
Counties | Rockland | |||
Highway system | ||||
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New York State Route 59 (NY 59) is an east–west state highway in southern Rockland County, New York, in the United States. The route extends for 14.08 miles (22.66 km) from NY 17 in Hillburn to U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) in Nyack. In Suffern, it has a concurrency with US 202 for 0.05 miles (0.08 km). NY 59 runs parallel to the New York State Thruway its entire route. The routing of NY 59 became a state highway in 1911 and was signed as NY 59 in the late 1920s.
When NY 59 was first assigned, it began at NY 17 in Suffern. A western bypass of Suffern was designated as New York State Route 339 c. 1932; however, it became part of a realigned NY 17 in the mid-1930s. NY 339 was reassigned to NY 17's former routing between Hillburn and Suffern, but it was replaced again c. 1937 by an extended NY 59. In the 1960s, proposals surfaced for the Spring Valley Bypass, a highway that would utilize the NY 59 corridor between NY 306 in Monsey and NY 45 in Spring Valley. The proposed highway was never built.
Route description
NY 59 begins at an intersection with NY 17 in Hillburn, just south of the village of Sloatsburg in southern Rockland County. It heads to the southeast as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, crossing over the Ramapo River and the Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line before following both into Suffern. The river leaves NY 59 just inside the village line; however, the railroad continues to run alongside NY 59 into the center of Suffern, where both pass under the New York State Thruway near where Interstate 87 (I-87) connects to I-287.[4]
Just south of the I-87 overpass, NY 59 meets
As NY 59 passes
Upon entering West Nyack, NY 59 becomes a four-lane expressway and intersects NY 304 and the Palisades Interstate Parkway (exit 8). The route proceeds onward, passing Palisades Center, one of the largest shopping malls in the country. Immediately after passing Palisades Center, NY 59 becomes a four-lane surface road and briefly enters Central Nyack. Here it connects to NY 303 by way of an interchange. Before hitting the Nyack village line, NY 59 has its final interchange with the Thruway. The southbound entrance to the Tappan Zee Bridge is via Mountainview Avenue, and the northbound entrance is via Polhemus Street.[4]
At the Nyack line, NY 59 becomes known as Main Street. As Main Street, NY 59 runs under the Thruway one final time before the Thruway heads over the bridge. The route continues toward downtown Nyack; however, it ends at an intersection with US 9W before it reaches the central district. Main Street continues for several blocks into downtown Nyack.[4]
History
Origins
NY 59 originated as the Nyack Turnpike, which was the first major thoroughfare in Rockland County.[5] A petition was filed in 1813 to construct the turnpike. Legislation stemming from the petition was passed on April 17, 1816, allowing construction to begin. The Nyack Turnpike was completed from Suffern to Nyack in the 1830s, despite many years of local opposition to the highway. Its charter was renewed multiple times throughout the 19th century, and it was designated as a toll road to help pay for its upkeep. In 1894, the turnpike was absorbed into the Rockland County road system.[6]
The turnpike was turned over from the county to the state of New York on July 14, 1911,[6] and added to the state highway system as part of Route 39-b, an unsigned legislative route extending from Nyack (at Broadway) to Harriman via modern NY 59 and NY 17.[7] The Route 39-b designation was eliminated on March 1, 1921, as part of a partial renumbering of New York's legislative route system.[8] When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, the portion of former Route 39-b between Suffern and Harriman became part of NY 17. The remainder of the route from Nyack to Suffern was not given a number.[9]
Designation
The Suffern–Nyack highway remained unnumbered until the late 1920s when was designated as NY 59. At the time, NY 59 was routed on West Nyack Road between
Location | West Nyack |
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Existed | February 1956[17]–late 1950s[18] |
In the early 1950s, construction began on a bypass of West Nyack Road between Nanuet and West Nyack.[19][20] The highway was completed c. 1955 and became part of a realigned NY 59. The portion of NY 59's former routing that did not overlap NY 304 was redesignated as NY 59A in February 1956.[17][21] This designation was short-lived as it was removed from West Nyack Road in the late 1950s.[18][22] In 1960, control of the highway was turned over to the town of Clarkstown, and parts of NY 59A's former routing were abandoned. A local company carried out work to convert the highway into a shopping center access road; however, Rockland County asserted that the town—and by extension the company—had no rights to perform this action. The county sued the company that helped improve the highway in 2002.[23]
Traffic problems
In 1958, Ramapo town engineer Edwin Wallace noticed an increase in the amount of traffic passing through the village of Spring Valley, which had become the largest village in Rockland County by this time. This led Wallace to propose a 5-mile (8.0 km) bypass of NY 59 in Monsey and NY 45 in Hillcrest. Rockland County approved the proposed bypass two years later.[24] In 1966, the Tri-State Transportation Commission released its long-term highway report for the area. The new study replaced the Spring Valley Bypass with the NY 45 expressway, a north–south bypass of Spring Valley connecting the Garden State Parkway to the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The road would serve a steadily growing area of commercial businesses along the NY 45 corridor. No action was taken on this proposal.[25]
With the Spring Valley Bypass plan shelved, traffic continued to pour through the Spring Valley–Nanuet area. In 1987, a task force was introduced to come up with a plan to solve this issue. Traffic became even worse when the
Shortly after the traffic problems in Nanuet were reduced, the focus was shifted to West Nyack where Palisades Center was being constructed. First proposed in the late 1980s, construction finally started in 1995. This caused major delays for motorists when a bridge was constructed from NY 59 to Palisades Center south parking lot.[26] To keep this portion of NY 59 from being overloaded with mall goers, exit 12 of the Thruway with NY 303 was re-routed through Palisades Center via Palisades Center Drive.[27]
In coordination with the
Future
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) has started the Route 59 Area Transportation & Land Use Study to study NY 59 between Airmont Road and the bridge over South Pascack Road. The study, taking place between Winter 2019 and Spring 2020, will investigate possible improvements to the road, such as new bicycle lanes and sidewalks.[28]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Rockland County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ramapo | 0.00 | 0.00 | I-87 north / New York Thruway north / NY 17 north | Western terminus | |
0.20 | 0.32 | I-287 | Exit 15A on I-87 / Thruway | ||
Suffern | 1.65 | 2.66 | US 202 east – Haverstraw | Western terminus of US 202 concurrency | |
1.70 | 2.74 | Mahwah, NJ | Eastern terminus of US 202 concurrency | ||
I-287 / New York Thruway | |||||
CR 73 south (East Saddle River Road) – Pomona | Southern terminus of NY 306; northern terminus of CR 73 | ||||
Montvale, NJ | |||||
8.34 | 13.42 | CR 35A north (New Clarkstown Road) | Western terminus of CR 35A concurrency | ||
8.43 | 13.57 | CR 35A south (Forman Drive) | Eastern terminus of CR 35A concurrency; exit 14 on I-87 / I-287 / Thruway | ||
I-287 east / New York Thruway south | Exit 14 on I-87 / I-287 / Thruway | ||||
9.50 | 15.29 | CR 33 (Middletown Road) – Nanuet Station | To The Shops at Nanuet | ||
9.69 | 15.59 | College Avenue to West Nyack Road | Former western terminus of NY 59A | ||
10.26 | 16.51 | Western end of limited-access section | |||
NY 304 – New City, Pearl River | Modified cloverleaf interchange | ||||
Bear Mountain | Cloverleaf interchange; exits 8E-W on Palisades Parkway | ||||
CR 23 (Sickletown Road) | Eastbound entrance only | ||||
At-grade intersection except eastbound exit | |||||
Eastern end of limited-access section | |||||
12.81 | 20.62 | NY 303 – Orangeburg, Haverstraw | Modified cloverleaf interchange | ||
I-287 east / New York Thruway south | Exit 11 on I-87 / I-287 / Thruway | ||||
14.08 | 22.66 | US 9W – Upper Nyack, Piermont | Eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b "2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 201. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- ^ Standard Oil Company of New York. 1927.
- ^ a b New York in Soconyland (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Standard Oil Company of New York. 1929.
- ^ a b c d e Google (September 7, 2007). "overview map of NY 59" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
- ^ a b Rubin, Andrea (October 22, 2002). "Take the main road from the Hudson to Hillburn (and back)". The Journal News. White Plains, NY.
- ^ a b Nannariello, Lynn. "Its About Time". Rockland County Government. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
- ^ State of New York Commission of Highways (1919). The Highway Law. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company. p. 68. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
- ^ New York State Legislature (1921). "Tables of Laws and Codes Amended or Repealed". Laws of the State of New York passed at the One Hundred and Forty-Fourth Session of the Legislature. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 42, 69–70. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers". The New York Times. December 21, 1924. p. XX9.
- ^ Dickinson, Leon A. (January 12, 1930). "New Signs for State Highways". The New York Times. p. 136.
- Kendall Refining Company. 1931.
- Texas Oil Company. 1932.
- ^ Texaco Road Map – New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Texas Oil Company. 1934.
- Shell Oil Company. 1936.
- ^ Road Map – New York (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. Shell Oil Company. 1936.
- ^ Shell Road Map – New York (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. Shell Oil Company. 1937.
- ^ a b "Old 59 Now 59A". The Rockland County Journal-News. February 2, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ Gulf Oil Company. 1958. Northeastern New Jersey inset.
- ^ New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Sunoco. 1952.
- ^ New York with Special Maps of Putnam–Rockland–Westchester Counties and Finger Lakes Region (Map) (1955–56 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1954.
- ^ Park Ridge Quadrangle – New Jersey – New York (Map). 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1955. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ^ New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1960. Northeastern New Jersey inset.
- ^ County of Rockland vs. Ecklecco (New York Courts Appellate Division 2003).
- ^ "Bypass Hearing Held: Most of 200 Favor Route to Avoid Spring Valley". The New York Times. April 22, 1960. p. 6.
- ^ Transportation 1985: A Regional Plan. Tri-State Transportation Commission. 1966.
- ^ Feron, James (December 31, 1988). "Plan to Build Huge Mall Under Attack in Rockland". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
- ^ Marshall, Julienne (March 17, 2003). "Snake Hill Road once had big copperhead population". The Journal News. White Plains, NY. p. B5.
- ^ "Route 59 | Area Transportation & Land Use Study". Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
External links
- New York State Route 59 at Alps' Roads • New York Routes
- New York State Route 59A at New York Routes
- NY 59 @ NYS Thruway exits 11 to 14 (Empire State Roads.com)