New York State Thruway

[shadyjay]

I-84 in New York has gates as well and has for a few years now:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5084347,-73.6808073,3a,48.5y,158.12h,89.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D47.08044%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[Rothman]

I-84 in New York has gates as well and has for a few years now:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5084347,-73.6808073,3a,48.5y,158.12h,89.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D47.08044%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Wonder if they've ever been used.

[jeffandnicole]

I-84 in New York has gates as well and has for a few years now:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5084347,-73.6808073,3a,48.5y,158.12h,89.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dy6GvRa6rOaZtUMc-xQ6jOg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D47.08044%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

That gate will stop someone driving on the shoulder, but for the other 3/4 of paved road, no one will have an issue going around it.

[shadyjay]

Seems not every exit's got one.  This one is on the other side of the mountain and blocks the eastbound onramp. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5281115,-73.8125848,3a,87.1y,192.12h,83.73t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBnPIsd3Zv3uTPWld5uziHw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

And... a story to go with them, from 2019:

https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2019/10/16/gates-installed-at-entrance-ramps/2523874007/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20gates%20at%20the%20entrances,Department%20of%20Transportation%20(DOT).

(Gates were put up long after the New York Thruway shed itself of I-84 maintenance, so not entirely off-topic)

[jeffandnicole]

Seems not every exit's got one.  This one is on the other side of the mountain and blocks the eastbound onramp. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5281115,-73.8125848,3a,87.1y,192.12h,83.73t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBnPIsd3Zv3uTPWld5uziHw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

As written on the underside of the gate arm:  https://www.safe-crossings.com/

[tmoore952]

It's the I-81 corridor from Pulaski to Watertown that gets the worst of it.

I'd go all the way down to 481 on that assessment.  I've seen plenty of heavy lake-effect bands in Central Square and Cicero.  The right northwesterly wind will even drag it into Syracuse proper.

I had to turn around one night (Dec 28th or 29th 1997) at the I-81 Cortland exit (NY 13) because of snow. I-81 was closed north of there. Was forced to go onto NY 13. I nearly got stuck trying to make a U-turn to get to the ramp for I-81 south. Silly me was trying to go to Ottawa (from Philadelphia), It got really bad very quickly going north from Binghamton.

So I drove back to Philadelphia. Got back there about 10 PM. That night the 11 PM Philadelphia local news showed footage of the snow in Syracuse-Cortland area.

I did eventually go to Ottawa a couple years later. This time in October.

[steviep24]

A major accident occurred this morning on the eastbound lanes between exits 46 and 45. A tandem tractor trailer struck a disabled car and then went off the bridge that carries the Thruway over Pittsford Mendon Center Rd. in the Rochester area.

https://www.whec.com/local/expect-delays-due-to-thruway-crash-on-i-90-eastbound/

Pittsford Mendon Center Rd is closed and the right eastbound lane on the Truway is closed at this time.

EDIT TO ADD: According to the NYS Thruway website the eastbound right lane between exits 46 and 45 is closed until further notice.

[Rothman]

No more CDL for that driver.

[webny99]

A major accident occurred this morning on the eastbound lanes between exits 46 and 45. A tandem tractor trailer struck a disabled car and then went off the bridge that carries the Thruway over Pittsford Mendon Center Rd. in the Rochester area.

https://www.whec.com/local/expect-delays-due-to-thruway-crash-on-i-90-eastbound/

Pittsford Mendon Center Rd is closed and the right eastbound lane on the Truway is closed at this time.

EDIT TO ADD: According to the NYS Thruway website the eastbound right lane between exits 46 and 45 is closed until further notice.

Wow, those pictures are something. Hopefully it's not a long term closure because it's not going to be good if it's still closed during the eclipse. Hopefully the DOT recognizes that in time to do a traffic shift to the shoulder or something. The effects were already evident today with long backups on the Thruway and even some slowdowns entering the Thruway at Exit 45 (common during summer travel season but unusual this time of year).

[webny99]

^ Seems to have been resolved at least temporarily. No backups today so presumably the lanes have been shifted or otherwise cleared for reopening.

[steviep24]

^ Seems to have been resolved at least temporarily. No backups today so presumably the lanes have been shifted or otherwise cleared for reopening.

Bridge railings were badly damaged from that. They may have installed a jersey barrier for now.

[vdeane]

The Warners Service Area just reopened today.  Looking at the project map, the contrast between I-90 (especially between Rochester and Amsterdam) and I-87 in terms of service availability is more stark.

[deathtopumpkins]

It seems NYSTA still hasn't gotten its act together re: toll processing.

Just had more tolls from my 9/20/23 drive finally post. Over 6 months later.

And there are overlapping/duplicate charges.

Between this mess and the toll hikes, no more Thruway for me.

[seicer]

That's odd. Over the past week, I extensively used the Thruway, and the NYSTA posted my transactions on time. There were no overlapping or duplicate charges. Could it be a faulty transponder? A few people on Reddit had posted a similar complaint, and once they swapped out their transponder, it was resolved. I'm not sure how the transponder was the issue in this case...

[froggie]

Just checked my statement from my Thruway trip last week.  They had mine posted within 48 hours, and this is to an out-of-state EZPass (mine is from Virginia).  Looks like it runs $6.72 these days from Newburgh to Albany for us non-resident peasants...

[vdeane]

There was an issue sometime last year that was causing tolls to take a REALLY long time to post.  I think it might have been right around then.  IIRC during that time, they incorrectly gave me a free ride between 24-25A on a trip where I went further west, so something must have been up with their system.

[vdeane]

It looks like the jumbo-sized numerals at exit 24 aren't a one-off.  I noticed quite a few on my drive back from Rochester a couple days ago... looks like they might be the new standard.

In other news, Guilderland looks like it's close to reopening.  I didn't see any barriers staged at Mohawk, so it's probably not imminent, but I would except it before Memorial Day.

[Jim]

I also noticed this morning that the Guilderland service plaza is looking close to ready.  Names of the businesses are now posted and illuminated.

I still think it looks tiny.

[cl94]

There was an issue sometime last year that was causing tolls to take a REALLY long time to post.  I think it might have been right around then.  IIRC during that time, they incorrectly gave me a free ride between 24-25A on a trip where I went further west, so something must have been up with their system.

Speaking of 24-25A, they also greatly reduced the tolerance for the "free ride". Back in 2021, I exited at 25A and spent at least half an hour at the exit between gas and other things. Got charged for 24-25A when I got back on. I've also heard stories of people getting charged for 25-24 after stopping at the service area, despite entering at 25A. Why they couldn't just make that segment free is beyond me, but that would have required NYSTA to do something more than "exactly replicate the ticket system," which nearly every other system that went AET has been able to do.

[vdeane]

Speaking of 24-25A, they also greatly reduced the tolerance for the "free ride". Back in 2021, I exited at 25A and spent at least half an hour at the exit between gas and other things. Got charged for 24-25A when I got back on. I've also heard stories of people getting charged for 25-24 after stopping at the service area, despite entering at 25A. Why they couldn't just make that segment free is beyond me, but that would have required NYSTA to do something more than "exactly replicate the ticket system," which nearly every other system that went AET has been able to do.

If they were trying to "exactly replicate the ticket system", then they didn't do a very good job.  What used to be one charge (24-45) for my trips between Rochester and Albany is now eight (34A-35, 35-36, 44-45, 36-39, 39-44, 25A-34A, 25-25A, 24-25); it's like assembling a jigsaw puzzle (and yes, it's in that order; the first three post within a day, the next two within a week, and the last three can be a month or more; the last two have been incorrectly billed as a free ride from 24-25A at least twice).  It wouldn't be hard to amalgamate everything together; MassDOT does, and the Thruway does too for their annual permit plan users, so it's not like it's impossible, they just refuse to do so.

They wouldn't even need to make that free to fix this (although it would be nice, as Schenectady feels separate from Albany/Troy/Saratoga due to the need to pay a toll or deal with traffic lights to get there).  If they were smart, they would have ended the Albany-Syracuse VTS west of exit 26, placed gantries inside exit 25A to cover 25-26, and placed ramp gantries here and here to deal with 24-25.  They already do this at exit 16 and at New Rochelle, so I don't see what the big deal is.

(personal opinion)