U.S. Route 9W
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North end | US 9 in Albany, NY | ||
Location | |||
Country | United States | ||
States | New Jersey, New York | ||
Counties | NJ: Bergen NY: Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Greene, Albany | ||
Highway system | |||
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U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south
Route description
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
For much of its length, US 9W is a two-lane surface road. However, some stretches in New Jersey and New York widen to four lanes, and much of the highway in Orange County is like an expressway even if not so designated.
New Jersey
US 9W begins as a four-lane road. Heading north on Fletcher Avenue (from Kelby Street intersection, near the
Lemoine Avenue is heavy with commercial development in the Coytesville section of Fort Lee, but, as the road runs into Englewood Cliffs, it transitions to corporate office buildings. Into the affluent community of Alpine in the state's northeastern corner, it becomes more residential. Near Norwood, just south of the state line, US 9W crosses under the parkway and enters New York. Before the construction of the PIP, US 9W used to follow a route through the State Line Lookout at the New Jersey–New York border which is now accessible only from the parkway.
The entire route of US 9W in New Jersey is within Bergen County.
New York
Rockland County
Across the state line, US 9W continues in Palisades as Highland Avenue, a two-lane road through mostly residential suburban surroundings. It passes Columbia University's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and then Tallman Mountain State Park. Bending westward to Sparkill, it meets NY 340.
It returns to the riverside at Piermont, where it takes the name Broadway Avenue. Running due north, it enters Nyack and meets with the New York State Thruway (I-87 and I-287) just west of the Tappan Zee Bridge. It then runs along the thruway to the east terminus of NY 59 in downtown Nyack, where it becomes North Highland Avenue once again. North of Upper Nyack, it passes Rockland Lake through Valley Cottage and then Rockland Lake State Park.
Alongside the park, it crosses town lines again. NY 303 reaches its north end just after the park and, after a tight curve NY 304, reaches its northern terminus as well.
US 9W then returns to the riverside briefly, trending away from it into Haverstraw under the name Congers Avenue. The village is followed immediately by West Haverstraw, where US 202 comes in at an oblique angle and joins US 9W, creating the first concurrency along the route.
The combined highways head north from the Haverstraws as South, then North, Liberty Drive, passing Stony Point Battlefield. They return to the Hudson at Tomkins Cove, where the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet was moored from 1947 to 1971. Between Tomkins Cove and Jones Point there are two large ships anchor surrounding a monument alongside the road that marks the spot which is just across from Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan.
At Jones Point, the road curves and bends above the river as it works its way around Dunderberg Mountain, the southernmost peak of the Hudson Highlands and part of Bear Mountain State Park.
At Iona Island, it levels out again briefly and then US 9W/US 202 climbs to the heart of the state park at Bear Mountain Inn and Hessian Lake, where the Appalachian Trail crosses beneath the road in the only artificial tunnel along its entire route. The Orange County line is crossed just before Bear Mountain Circle.
Orange County
The circle marks the northern terminus of the PIP and the junction with
A half-mile (0.80 km) further north,
From here, US 9W continues its ascent, offering sweeping views over the river and highlands, with an overlook available to northbound drivers. The surrounding land is all woods, part of the vast USMA property. After passing Crow's Nest, Storm King and the rocky cliff faces of Butter Hill dominate the northward view. Another parking lot allows travelers to stop and sightsee, as well as hike the Stillman Trail up the two peaks.
After Storm King, the road begins a long descent into the town of Cornwall. Just outside the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson and the fields of New York Military Academy, NY 218 ends its loop. Shortly afterward, the division ends and grade intersections resume, although the road remains four lanes as it enters the town of New Windsor.
It descends again where Breakneck Ridge and Bull Hill tower across the river. Traffic begins to slow down at the center of town, where NY 94 ends its journey across the county. After this traffic light, the road begins to narrow. Once across Quassaick Creek and into Newburgh, it is Robinson Avenue, a wide urban arterial with parking along the sides.
It ascends gently past Delano-Hitch Stadium and the associated park to the center of its passage across Newburgh, the intersection with Broadway. Here NY 17K has its eastern terminus, and NY 32, the other main surface route west of the Hudson, begins its first concurrency with US 9W.
Passing Broadway School, a former elementary school which is in the process of being converted into the City of Newburgh Court House, the two routes head into a more residential sector of the city, marked by Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Downing Park. The road's climb continues until the North campus of Newburgh Free Academy, where it starts to descend to the busy exit at I-84, visible ahead, just west of the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge. This junction, also including NY 52, is the city's northern limit.
Immediately after it, NY 32 leaves to the northwest while US 9W continues northward. It passes
Ulster County
Traffic is slowed when it passes through the hamlet of
About two miles (3.2 km) north of that intersection, the road returns to two lanes through West Park and Esopus, passing primarily through largely undeveloped, primarily wooded countryside. It becomes more built up at Port Ewen, just south of Kingston, which it enters by crossing Rondout Creek via the John T. Loughran Bridge and becoming Frank Koenig Boulevard and four lanes with limited access.
It runs right through Kingston this way and meets NY 32 again at the city's northern boundary. Turning left, US 9W's second concurrency with NY 32 is only 500 feet (150 m) long as it almost immediately turns right onto East Chester Street. The road widens again, becoming a busy commercial strip. At the freeway interchange ahead for the Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge, US 209 comes to its northern end and NY 199 its western.
In Lake Katrine, the road begins to narrow and traffic lightens. US 9W stays on a straight northward course, following alongside Esopus Creek but not crossing it, until it veers northeast to merge, once again, with NY 32.
This third concurrency finally brings the road over Esopus Creek and into the riverside village of
Greene County and north
In Catskill, US 9W meets with NY 23A, then NY 385 at its southern terminus, and then, a mile (1.6 km) north, NY 23.
In
History
Origins
In New York, much of what is now US 9W was designated as Route 3, an unsigned legislative route, by the New York State Legislature in 1908. The route extended from the New Jersey state line at Orangetown and went northward through the Hudson Valley to the city of Albany. Route 3 broke from modern US 9W in several locations, mostly in areas where the route has since been moved onto bypasses. In Clarkstown, Route 3 veered west to serve Congers via Lake and Old Haverstraw Roads. From Highland Falls to Cornwall-on-Hudson, Route 3 followed modern NY 218 around Storm King Mountain. Lastly, Route 3 utilized current NY 385 between Catskill and Coxsackie.[4][5] This route north of Route 3 was altered slightly on March 1, 1921, to bypass Congers on modern US 9W.[6] When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, all of legislative Route 3 south of Ravena was designated as part of NY 10. From Ravena to Albany, however, NY 10 followed a more easterly alignment along what is now NY 143, NY 144, and NY 32.[7][8][9] This route had previously been signed as part of the West Shore Route auto trail north of Newburgh.[10]
The New Jersey segment of modern US 9W was originally designated as part of Route 18N in 1923, a route that ran from Hoboken to the New York state line at Alpine via Fort Lee.[11] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 18N was truncated northward to Fort Lee. At the time, present-day County Route 501 (CR 501) north of Fort Lee was part of Route 1.[12] In 1929, Route 18N was supplanted by a realigned Route 1.[13] The Route 1 designation remained in place until the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering when it was removed to eliminate overlaps with several routes, including US 9W.[14][15]
Designation
In the original 1925 plan for the
Past Sparkill, US 9W used what was originally planned as US 9 north to Waterford, utilizing modern
Early changes
The two branches of US 9 in New Jersey were altered several times over the next decade. At some point between 1927 and 1929, the west branch of US 9 was reconfigured in Bergen County to enter Fort Lee from the south on Palisade Avenue (current Route 67) and proceed north from Fort Lee to New York on Route 18N (later Route 1). The portion of US 9W in New York south of Sparkill was altered accordingly to meet the realigned US 9.[19][20] In the early 1930s, the east branch of US 9 was shifted southward to reach New York via modern Route 139 and the Holland Tunnel while the west branch of the route was realigned to follow what is now US 1/9 between the Tonnele Circle and Fort Lee.[21][22] US 9W was extended southward into New Jersey c. 1932, replacing the west branch of US 9.[22][23] US 9 was rerouted c. 1934 to follow US 9W and the George Washington Bridge to New York; as a result, US 9W was cut back to its current southern terminus in Fort Lee.[24][25]
In the
Bypasses
In the early 1930s, plans were made by the state of New York to construct a new highway between the Bear Mountain Bridge and Cornwall-on-Hudson that would bypass both Cornwall-on-Hudson and Highland Falls and bypass the narrow Storm King Highway, US 9W's original routing between the two. On April 8, 1934, three people were killed by a rockslide on the Storm King Highway, expediting plans for the new highway, known as the Storm King Cutoff.[29] The southernmost two miles (3.2 km) of the highway—from the bridge to just north of Fort Montgomery—utilized the existing right-of-way of US 9W,[30] which was widened from two to four lanes[29] and straightened through the construction of rock cuts. Construction on this segment was completed in 1937.[30]
The portion of the bypass from Fort Montgomery to Cornwall-on-Hudson, with the exception of a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch northwest of Highland Falls, was constructed on a new alignment. It was built with four lanes and constructed along the sides of Storm King Mountain and other, smaller hills in the area. The high elevation of the roadway gave rise to a bevy of scenic, panoramic views that stretched for several miles into the distance; as a result, a fifth lane was added in some areas to allow motorists to stop and view the scenery. Like the section south of Fort Montgomery, the one-mile (1.6 km) stretch that utilized the original US 9W was widened to four lanes as well. Several interchanges were built along the route, including with
Bypasses have also been proposed or constructed in other locations. In
Major intersections
State | County | Location | mi[1][2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
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Exits 72-73 on I-95 | ||||||
0.17 | 0.27 | Route 4 west | ||||
0.65 | 1.05 | Route 67 south / Palisades Parkway north | Access via Route 445S; northern terminus of Route 67 | |||
Englewood Cliffs | 2.19 | 3.52 | CR 505 (Palisades Avenue) / Palisades Parkway – Englewood | |||
Alpine | 7.19 | 11.57 | CR 502 west (Closter Dock Road) – Closter, Westwood | Eastern terminus of CR 502 | ||
7.77 | 12.50 | Henry Hudson Drive | ||||
9.75 | 15.69 | Palisades Parkway | Exit 3 on Palisades Parkway | |||
10.46– 10.84 | 16.83– 17.45 | Palisades Parkway | Exit 4 on Palisades Parkway | |||
11.87 0.00 | 19.10 0.00 | New Jersey–New York state line | ||||
New York | Rockland | Orangetown | 2.63 | 4.23 | To NY 340 – Sparkill | Access via NY 981H / NY 981J |
New York City, Albany | Exit 10 (I-87/I-287/Thruway) | |||||
Exit 11 (I-87/I-287/Thruway); eastern terminus of NY 59 | ||||||
Clarkstown | 12.81 | 20.62 | NY 303 south – West Nyack, Congers | Northern terminus of NY 303 | ||
13.42 | 21.60 | NY 304 south – New City | Northern terminus of NY 304 | |||
Village of Haverstraw | 15.87 | 25.54 | Westside Avenue (NY 981F) | Southern terminus of unsigned NY 981F | ||
16.27 | 26.18 | US 202 west – Suffern | Southern terminus of concurrency with US 202 | |||
Stony Point | To Seven Lakes Drive west – Bear Mountain State Park | Access via South Entrance Road | ||||
Seven Lakes Drive west – Bear Mountain State Park | Eastern terminus of Seven Lakes Drive | |||||
Orange | Highlands | 26.67 | 42.92 | US 6 / US 202 east (Bear Mountain Bridge) / Palisades Parkway south – Peekskill, Cold Spring, Central Valley, New Jersey | Northern terminus of US 202 concurrency and Palisades Parkway; Bear Mountain Circle | |
28.46 | 45.80 | Old State Road (NY 980U) | Southern terminus of unsigned NY 980U | |||
Highland Falls | 29.36 | 47.25 | NY 218 north – West Point, Highland Falls | Interchange; southern terminus of NY 218 | ||
Highlands | 31.31 | 50.39 | NY 218 south – West Point, Highland Falls | Interchange; southern terminus of concurrency with NY 218 | ||
32.07 | 51.61 | NY 218 north / NY 293 south – Central Valley | Interchange; northern terminus of NY 293 and of concurrency with NY 218 | |||
Cornwall | 37.62 | 60.54 | CR 9 (Angola Road) | Interchange | ||
38.06 | 61.25 | hamlet of Firthcliffe | ||||
38.66 | 62.22 | CR 32 (Willow Avenue) | Interchange; hamlet of Firthcliffe | |||
39.51 | 63.59 | NY 218 south – Cornwall | Interchange; northern terminus of NY 218 | |||
Town of New Windsor | River Road | Interchange; hamlet of New Windsor | ||||
42.30 | 68.08 | NY 94 south – Vails Gate | Northern terminus of NY 94 | |||
City of Newburgh | 43.22 | 69.56 | NY 17K west (Broadway) / NY 32 south to I-87 / New York Thruway | Eastern terminus of NY 17K; southern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | ||
South Street (NY 980P) | Former routing of NY 52 | |||||
Stewart Airport | Exit 39 on I-84 / NY 52; northern terminus of concurrency with NY 32; hamlet of Balmville | |||||
Interchange; southern terminus of concurrency with US 44 / NY 55 | ||||||
59.03 | 95.00 | US 44 west / NY 55 west | Northern terminus of concurrency with US 44 / NY 55; hamlet of Highland | |||
60.91 | 98.03 | NY 299 west to I-87 / New York Thruway – New Paltz | Eastern terminus of NY 299 | |||
NY 984D) | Southern terminus of unsigned NY 984D; former routing of US 9W; hamlet of Port Ewen | |||||
City of Kingston | 74.12 | 119.28 | Delaware Avenue | Interchange | ||
Ulster | 75.37 | 121.30 | NY 32 north – Saugerties, Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge | Southern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | ||
City of Kingston | 75.65 | 121.75 | NY 32 south – Tillson | Northern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | ||
Ulster | 76.96 | 123.86 | Ulster Avenue (NY 981M) | Northern terminus of unsigned NY 981M | ||
78.04 | 125.59 | Rhinecliff Bridge, Ellenville | Interchange; northern terminus of US 209; western terminus of NY 199 | |||
Town of Saugerties | 83.70 | 134.70 | NY 32 south – Glasco | Southern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | ||
Village of Saugerties | 85.92 | 138.27 | NY 32 north / NY 212 west to I-87 / New York Thruway | Northern terminus of concurrency with NY 32; eastern terminus of NY 212 | ||
Greene | Village of Catskill | 96.33 | 155.03 | NY 23A west – Tannersville, Hunter | Eastern terminus of NY 23A | |
96.88 | 155.91 | Downtown Catskill | Southern terminus of NY 385 | |||
Town of Catskill | 98.13 | 157.92 | NY 23 to I-87 / New York Thruway / US 9 / NY 9G – Rip Van Winkle Bridge, Cairo, Hudson | Interchange | ||
Town of Coxsackie | 107.54 | 173.07 | NY 81 west / NY 385 south – Greenville, Coxsackie | Eastern terminus of NY 81; northern terminus of NY 385 | ||
107.74 | 173.39 | Mansion Street Extension ( NY 910U ) | Former routing of US 9W; northern terminus of unsigned NY 910U | |||
Town of New Baltimore | 109.73 | 176.59 | I-87 / New York Thruway | Exit 21B on I-87 / Thruway | ||
112.02 | 180.28 | NY 144 north – New Baltimore | Southern terminus of NY 144 | |||
Albany | Ravena | 115.03 | 185.12 | NY 143 – Westerlo, Ravena | ||
Bethlehem | 120.74 | 194.31 | NY 396 to I-87 / New York Thruway – South Bethlehem, Selkirk | Hamlet of Beckers Corners | ||
125.91 | 202.63 | NY 32 south – Delmar | Interchange; southern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | |||
126.30 | 203.26 | NY 32 north | Northern terminus of concurrency with NY 32 | |||
I-787 north – Rensselaer, Troy | Southern terminus and exit 1 on I-787; exit 23 on I-87 / Thruway | |||||
127.96 | 205.93 | NY 443 west (Delaware Avenue) | Southern terminus of concurrency with NY 443 | |||
129.31 | 208.10 | US 20 (Madison Avenue) NY 443 ends | Eastern terminus of NY 443 | |||
129.68 | 208.70 | NY 5 (Washington Avenue) | ||||
129.96 | 209.15 | US 9 (Clinton Avenue) | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b "US 9W Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. May 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. pp. 30–32. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ a b c Automobile Blue Book. Vol. 1 (1927 ed.). Chicago: Automobile Blue Book, Inc. 1927. This edition shows U.S. Routes as they were first officially signed in 1927.
- ^ State of New York Department of Highways (1909). The Highway Law. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company. p. 54. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ New York State Department of Highways (1920). Report of the State Commissioner of Highways. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 499–500. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ 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, 45–46. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers". The New York Times. December 21, 1924. p. XX9.
- ^ Rand McNally and Company. 1926. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ a b Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas (eastern New York) (Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1926. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Rand McNally official 1920 auto trails map, New York City and vicinity". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ "Route No. 18-N From Hoboken to New York State line by way of Weehawken, West Hoboken, town of Union, North Bergen, Fairview, Ridgefield, Palisade Park, Fort Lee, Englewood-Cliffs, Tenafly and Alpine". New Jersey State Legislations. New Jersey State Legislature. 1923.
- ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
- ^ ROUTE NO. 1. Alpine to Bayonne. Beginning at the New York state line on state highway route heretofore designated as Route No. 18--north in Alpine and terminating in Bayonne, by way of Alpine, Tenafly, Fort Lee and Ridgefield, in Bergen county, North Bergen, Jersey City and Bayonne, in Hudson county. L. 1929, c. 126, p. 215, s. 1.
- ^ "1953 renumbering". New Jersey Department of Highways. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ^ "New Road Signs Ready in New Jersey". The New York Times. December 16, 1952. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- Bureau of Public Roads. October 30, 1925. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
- ^ New York and Vicinity (Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1926. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- .
- ^ a b 1927 Tydol Trails Map (north New Jersey) (Map). Tydol Oil Company. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Standard Oil Company of New York. 1929.
- ^ a b Road Map of New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Standard Oil Company of New York. 1930.
- ^ Texas Oil Company. 1932.
- ^ Kendall Refining Company. 1931.
- ^ a b Texaco Road Map – New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Texas Oil Company. 1933.
- ^ "Mark Ways in the City". The New York Times. December 16, 1934. p. XX12.
- 1930 renumbering
- ^ Dickinson, Leon A. (January 12, 1930). "New Signs for State Highways". The New York Times. p. 136.
- ^ "Route Changes in State Listed". New York Post. March 30, 1935. p. 18. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Mathieu, George M. (August 6, 1939). "Storm King Cut-Off Pushed". The New York Times. pp. XX1, XX10.
- ^ a b "Route U.S. 9W Improved". The New York Times. November 21, 1937. p. 196.
- ^ Mathieu, George M. (September 22, 1940). "A New Route North". The New York Times. p. XX1.
- ^ Mathieu, George M. (May 25, 1941). "A Cut-Off With Views". The New York Times. p. XX2.
- ^ New York with Pictorial Guide (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1942.
- State of New York Department of Public Works.
- Exxon. 1979.
- State of New York. 1981.
- ^ New York State Department of Transportation (January 2012). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Retrieved February 1, 2012.
External links
- U.S. Route 9W at Alps' Roads • New York Routes
- An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge (PDF)
- New Jersey Roads: US 9W
- US 9W @ NYS Thruway Exit 10 (Empire State Roads.com)
- US 9W @ NYS Thruway Exit 11 (Empire State Roads.com)
- Capital Highways -- Mid-Crosstown Arterial
- Police Scanner Frequencies for Route 9W
- Speed Limits for Route 9W in New Jersey