New York

[cl94]

Does Albany have more vehicular traffic than Buffalo (by AADT)?

Don't know about more, but on a fun visit to Region 5 I had some time ago, they showed how in Buffalo they don't have the rush hour "bumps" on a daily traffic volume graph.  It peaks around lunch time.

Working for the Buffalo MPO in the field, I can confirm that. In most parts of Buffalo, traffic is pretty sustained throughout the day. Peak hours do have higher counts during the rush hours than the lunch period, but there's not as much of a variation as is present elsewhere. Most of Niagara Falls does have its daily peak hour from 12-1 PM (tourists, Canadians, shoppers).

Albany's terrain funnels traffic onto a few highways, while flat Buffalo has a lot of parallel routings that spread traffic out over a large area. You don't have the dense network of 4+ lane highways crisscrossing the region because the central business districts of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy are in deep valleys and river crossings are limited, with the bridges being major choke points. The foothills for each of the surrounding mountain ranges go right up to the valley. Complicating matters, many of the major surface highways are on routings dating back to the 1600s.

AADTs on the expressways tend to be higher in Albany due to the lack of good surface routings (and the lack of river crossings altogether), with only the stretches between Exits 50-51 and 53-54 (adjacent exits between freeways) on I-90 east of Buffalo being higher. In terms of sustained volume over a long distance, the Northway has the highest AADT upstate, with counts over 100,000 up into Saratoga County.

[Buffaboy]

Does Albany have more vehicular traffic than Buffalo (by AADT)?

Don't know about more, but on a fun visit to Region 5 I had some time ago, they showed how in Buffalo they don't have the rush hour "bumps" on a daily traffic volume graph.  It peaks around lunch time.

Working for the Buffalo MPO in the field, I can confirm that. In most parts of Buffalo, traffic is pretty sustained throughout the day. Peak hours do have higher counts during the rush hours than the lunch period, but there's not as much of a variation as is present elsewhere. Most of Niagara Falls does have its daily peak hour from 12-1 PM (tourists, Canadians, shoppers).

Albany's terrain funnels traffic onto a few highways, while flat Buffalo has a lot of parallel routings that spread traffic out over a large area. You don't have the dense network of 4+ lane highways crisscrossing the region because the central business districts of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy are in deep valleys and river crossings are limited, with the bridges being major choke points. The foothills for each of the surrounding mountain ranges go right up to the valley. Complicating matters, many of the major surface highways are on routings dating back to the 1600s.

AADTs on the expressways tend to be higher in Albany due to the lack of good surface routings (and the lack of river crossings altogether), with only the stretches between Exits 50-51 and 53-54 (adjacent exits between freeways) on I-90 east of Buffalo being higher. In terms of sustained volume over a long distance, the Northway has the highest AADT upstate, with counts over 100,000 up into Saratoga County.

The Northway traffic counts, I bet they are so high as a result of most Albany suburbs located north (Clifton Park) and the presence of tech offices along the corridor.

[Buffaboy]

Well I'm traveling, and on 90WB I noticed there was bridge replacement in the Seneca nation portion of the Thruway. I gotta say I do like how the one bridge pays homage to that area (it says Seneca Nation on one side and a Native American phrase on the other).

My question is that how is the DOT paying for this when I thought they don't do highway projects in that area? Plus, if that's true, does that mean they couldn't do the Thruway reconstruction down there?

Also what bridges are being replaced along the Thruway and why?

[route17fan]

Thruway project D214317 (link has been taken down by NYSTA)

As to the why? - I can only assume is to upgrade the bridge. I looked through the plans and they seemed to just focus on replacing old guardrails and replace (presumably) rusted I-beams under the deck.

I didn't know the DOT had any involvement in the project - I thought it was solely Thruway. While it does go through Seneca land, I can only assume that the Thruway would be responsible for the maintenance. That's a gray area of which I know little - anyone know? 

[Buffaboy]

Yeah no, I mix the two's duties up all the time.

[route17fan]

Correction - they're replacing the whole bridge.

[noelbotevera]

Since I've just gotten back from New York City...

my route to get back home included some sidetracking. The route between I-495 and the NJ Turnpike was different.

What my parents took: I-495 WB through the Queens-Midtown (told them to take exit 17W), I-95 south thru the GWB, NJ Turnpike north to exit 14

My suggested routing: I-495 WB to exit 17W (I-278 WB), then take exit 26 on I-278 to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, continue on NY 9A north to exit 10, take I-95 southbound to exit 6 on the NJ Turnpike.

What roadgeek delights were there on my suggested routing and my parents routing?

[empirestate]

Since I've just gotten back from New York City...

my route to get back home included some sidetracking. The route between I-495 and the NJ Turnpike was different.

What my parents took: I-495 WB through the Queens-Midtown (told them to take exit 17W), I-95 south thru the GWB, NJ Turnpike north to exit 14

My suggested routing: I-495 WB to exit 17W (I-278 WB), then take exit 26 on I-278 to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, continue on NY 9A north to exit 10, take I-95 southbound to exit 6 on the NJ Turnpike.

What roadgeek delights were there on my suggested routing and my parents routing?

Well, that depends on a couple things:

—From Exit 10 on NY 9A, how would your routing have gotten up to I-95? The direct connection is at Exit 14, and that's pretty darn roadgeek-delightful.

—How did your parents' routing get you from I-495 to the GWB? Everything on I-95 between the bridge and I-87 at the Highbridge Interchange is fascinating.

Either way, you got the bridge itself and the crazy interchange on the NJ side, so that's pretty cool. However, your routing would have given you the cool cantilevered section of I-278 through Brooklyn Heights, but perhaps at the expense of the more interesting bits of FDR Drive, depending on whether that was on your parents' route.

[vdeane]

Does Albany have more vehicular traffic than Buffalo (by AADT)?

Don't know about more, but on a fun visit to Region 5 I had some time ago, they showed how in Buffalo they don't have the rush hour "bumps" on a daily traffic volume graph.  It peaks around lunch time.

Working for the Buffalo MPO in the field, I can confirm that. In most parts of Buffalo, traffic is pretty sustained throughout the day. Peak hours do have higher counts during the rush hours than the lunch period, but there's not as much of a variation as is present elsewhere. Most of Niagara Falls does have its daily peak hour from 12-1 PM (tourists, Canadians, shoppers).

Albany's terrain funnels traffic onto a few highways, while flat Buffalo has a lot of parallel routings that spread traffic out over a large area. You don't have the dense network of 4+ lane highways crisscrossing the region because the central business districts of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy are in deep valleys and river crossings are limited, with the bridges being major choke points. The foothills for each of the surrounding mountain ranges go right up to the valley. Complicating matters, many of the major surface highways are on routings dating back to the 1600s.

AADTs on the expressways tend to be higher in Albany due to the lack of good surface routings (and the lack of river crossings altogether), with only the stretches between Exits 50-51 and 53-54 (adjacent exits between freeways) on I-90 east of Buffalo being higher. In terms of sustained volume over a long distance, the Northway has the highest AADT upstate, with counts over 100,000 up into Saratoga County.

The Northway traffic counts, I bet they are so high as a result of most Albany suburbs located north (Clifton Park) and the presence of tech offices along the corridor.

That's a part of it.  Of course, all the development goes that way because it's the only direction one can go without running into tolls and/or mountains within a few miles.  During the summer and fall, there's also a ton of tourist traffic going up that way.

[noelbotevera]

Since I've just gotten back from New York City...

my route to get back home included some sidetracking. The route between I-495 and the NJ Turnpike was different.

What my parents took: I-495 WB through the Queens-Midtown (told them to take exit 17W), I-95 south thru the GWB, NJ Turnpike north to exit 14

My suggested routing: I-495 WB to exit 17W (I-278 WB), then take exit 26 on I-278 to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, continue on NY 9A north to exit 10, take I-95 southbound to exit 6 on the NJ Turnpike.

What roadgeek delights were there on my suggested routing and my parents routing?

Well, that depends on a couple things:

—From Exit 10 on NY 9A, how would your routing have gotten up to I-95? The direct connection is at Exit 14, and that's pretty darn roadgeek-delightful.

—How did your parents' routing get you from I-495 to the GWB? Everything on I-95 between the bridge and I-87 at the Highbridge Interchange is fascinating.

Either way, you got the bridge itself and the crazy interchange on the NJ side, so that's pretty cool. However, your routing would have given you the cool cantilevered section of I-278 through Brooklyn Heights, but perhaps at the expense of the more interesting bits of FDR Drive, depending on whether that was on your parents' route.

I made a mistake; my parents took the Midtown Tunnel, went north (no idea which avenue) to 41st Street (my dad says 39th, which is wrong), took the Lincoln Tunnel to the NJ Turnpike.

[Buffaboy]

More road trip stuff:

In VA my dad commented on the I-77 shield painted on the road. Earlier I saw numbers painted on the road. What is the prevalence of that in NY?

[empirestate]

I made a mistake; my parents took the Midtown Tunnel, went north (no idea which avenue) to 41st Street (my dad says 39th, which is wrong), took the Lincoln Tunnel to the NJ Turnpike.

Well, also a lot of cool stuff to see that way. The Lincoln Tunnel approach expressway is interesting, though you probably didn't take that. The mass of ramps, viaduct and tunnels connecting the tunnel with Port Authority Bus Terminal is also a fun mental challenge to sort out, especially looking at a map (and not knowing what's inside the terminal, exactly). Contra-flow bus lanes on NJ 495, and on some streets around the NY side too.

[machias]

The Utica area has a bunch of new VMSes as of Friday. 
* NY 49 EB between NY 291 and Cavanaugh Rd interchanges
* NY 8 NB between Washington Mills and New Hartford interchanges
* NY 840 EB between NY 5A and NY 5/8/12 interchanges
* NY 8/12 SB between Mulaney Rd and River Rd interchanges

These panels are smaller than those found elsewhere in the state and are really thin panels mounted on extruded metal.  I was surprised to see that VMSes were installed, I was sure they'd be "Traveler Advisory" signs with a radio frequency and flashing lights indication "Urgent Message When Flashing".

I don't know that the Utica area has enough traffic to warrant all of these signs (there were already three along NY 5/8/12), but only time will tell.

[cl94]

The Utica area has a bunch of new VMSes as of Friday. 
* NY 49 EB between NY 291 and Cavanaugh Rd interchanges
* NY 8 NB between Washington Mills and New Hartford interchanges
* NY 840 EB between NY 5A and NY 5/8/12 interchanges
* NY 8/12 SB between Mulaney Rd and River Rd interchanges

These panels are smaller than those found elsewhere in the state and are really thin panels mounted on extruded metal.  I was surprised to see that VMSes were installed, I was sure they'd be "Traveler Advisory" signs with a radio frequency and flashing lights indication "Urgent Message When Flashing".

I don't know that the Utica area has enough traffic to warrant all of these signs (there were already three along NY 5/8/12), but only time will tell.

Those are all logical places to have signs. Notifies traffic entering Utica from most of the major approaches about any issues. Honestly, I think every highway of importance should have VMSes at regular intervals to inform drivers about conditions. Just makes sense to do so.

Speaking of electronic signs, the travel time signs along I-990 north of Buffalo went online about a month and a half ago after being installed and inactive for over 2 years. After speaking with a higher-up at NITTEC, I am able to confirm that other dedicated travel time signs are planned for Erie and Niagara Counties and along the 400-series highways in the Niagara Region.

[Buffaboy]

With all of the new students going to the burgeoning SUNY Poly campus near Mulaney Road, it will be critical to have additional VMSes. /s

[Buffaboy]

The Utica area has a bunch of new VMSes as of Friday. 
* NY 49 EB between NY 291 and Cavanaugh Rd interchanges
* NY 8 NB between Washington Mills and New Hartford interchanges
* NY 840 EB between NY 5A and NY 5/8/12 interchanges
* NY 8/12 SB between Mulaney Rd and River Rd interchanges

These panels are smaller than those found elsewhere in the state and are really thin panels mounted on extruded metal.  I was surprised to see that VMSes were installed, I was sure they'd be "Traveler Advisory" signs with a radio frequency and flashing lights indication "Urgent Message When Flashing".

I don't know that the Utica area has enough traffic to warrant all of these signs (there were already three along NY 5/8/12), but only time will tell.

Those are all logical places to have signs. Notifies traffic entering Utica from most of the major approaches about any issues. Honestly, I think every highway of importance should have VMSes at regular intervals to inform drivers about conditions. Just makes sense to do so.

Speaking of electronic signs, the travel time signs along I-990 north of Buffalo went online about a month and a half ago after being installed and inactive for over 2 years. After speaking with a higher-up at NITTEC, I am able to confirm that other dedicated travel time signs are planned for Erie and Niagara Counties and along the 400-series highways in the Niagara Region.

Where?

Edit: here is a picture of the VMS sign:

[Buffaboy]

This is about as borderline off-topic as you can get, but in this NBC News article about the lack of new IP addresses, it mentions I-95 as part of the New York State Thruway. Well that's not the case...right? I can't seem to find an answer.

It's an interesting article as well though.

IP addresses are the four-number strings like 74.125.224.72 that you'll sometimes see in your browser's address bar, in the guts of your smartphone's system settings, or that you might be asked to type in to your cable modem or WiFi router. That address, 74.125.224.72, is one of many that should take you to Google.com.

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/internet-now-officially-too-big-ip-addresses-run-out-n386081?cid=sm_fb

[NE2]

I-95 is part of the Thruway north of Pelham Parkway...

[Alps]

This is about as borderline off-topic as you can get, but in this NBC News article about the lack of new IP addresses, it mentions I-95 as part of the New York State Thruway. Well that's not the case...right? I can't seem to find an answer.

It's an interesting article as well though.

IP addresses are the four-number strings like 74.125.224.72 that you'll sometimes see in your browser's address bar, in the guts of your smartphone's system settings, or that you might be asked to type in to your cable modem or WiFi router. That address, 74.125.224.72, is one of many that should take you to Google.com.

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/internet-now-officially-too-big-ip-addresses-run-out-n386081?cid=sm_fb

The best part of that quote is that they managed to name all of the highways that are owned by the Thruway Authority but are not part of the Thruway. (Yes, part of 287 is, but part isn't.)

[vdeane]

This is about as borderline off-topic as you can get, but in this NBC News article about the lack of new IP addresses, it mentions I-95 as part of the New York State Thruway. Well that's not the case...right? I can't seem to find an answer.

It's an interesting article as well though.

IP addresses are the four-number strings like 74.125.224.72 that you'll sometimes see in your browser's address bar, in the guts of your smartphone's system settings, or that you might be asked to type in to your cable modem or WiFi router. That address, 74.125.224.72, is one of many that should take you to Google.com.

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/internet-now-officially-too-big-ip-addresses-run-out-n386081?cid=sm_fb

The best part of that quote is that they managed to name all of the highways that are owned by the Thruway Authority but are not part of the Thruway. (Yes, part of 287 is, but part isn't.)

Garden State Parkway Extension?

[Duke87]

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

The best part of that quote is that they managed to name all of the highways that are owned by the Thruway Authority but are not part of the Thruway. (Yes, part of 287 is, but part isn't.)

Garden State Parkway Extension?

Also, if we're counting roads that are partly on the mainline and partly not, then logically 90 must count as well (Berkishire Section).

[mrsman]

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

The best part of that quote is that they managed to name all of the highways that are owned by the Thruway Authority but are not part of the Thruway. (Yes, part of 287 is, but part isn't.)

Garden State Parkway Extension?

Also, if we're counting roads that are partly on the mainline and partly not, then logically 90 must count as well (Berkishire Section).

For some people, it's just easier to remember names than numbers.  Think back to the time when telephone prefixes had names for the first two digits.  Or whether it's easier to remember the street you are exiting or the exit number.

In NYC, highways are much better known by their name than by their number.  So for the Thruway, it's generally easier to say take the Thruway, rather than take I-87 to I-90.

[vdeane]

It's like the highway system. If you're driving through New York, you might take Interstate 95 or I-190 or I-287. But in plain English, it's all the New York State Thruway.

The best part of that quote is that they managed to name all of the highways that are owned by the Thruway Authority but are not part of the Thruway. (Yes, part of 287 is, but part isn't.)

Garden State Parkway Extension?

Also, if we're counting roads that are partly on the mainline and partly not, then logically 90 must count as well (Berkishire Section).

The entire Berkshire Spur is on the ticket system, so I'm inclined to consider it differently from the other spurs (Niagara Thruway, Garden State Parkway, Cross-Westchester Expressway, and New England Thruway; formerly I-84)

[Duke87]

The entire Berkshire Spur is on the ticket system

No it isn't. The ticket system ends between B2 and B3. One can enter at B3 and head to Massachussets without giving NYSTA a cent of their money.

Although it is true that all of the other non-mainline sections are entirely outside of the ticket system, while the Berkshire Section is mostly within it.

Still, this distinction is arbitrary considering two significant chunks of the mainline are also outside of the ticket system. Niagara is just as much of a Thruway spur as Berkshire is, although it may feel less so to the driver since the City Line and Black Rock toll barriers were axed. (amusingly, the NY EZpass website still has them in their list of toll plaza codes).

I would argue the Cross Westchester Expressway is really the only stepchild section of "Thruway", since it is a road that was built by the state DOT and is still owned by the state DOT, but has had its maintenance responsibilities dumped on the Thruway Authority for quite some time. Everything else was built by NYSTA for NYSTA and is pure-bred Thruway.

[empirestate]

The entire Berkshire Spur is on the ticket system

No it isn't. The ticket system ends between B2 and B3. One can enter at B3 and head to Massachussets without giving NYSTA a cent of their money.

Well, but on the other hand, if you get on at B3 and head westbound, you get a ticket at the Canaan barrier that says "B3". And if you get on anywhere else in the ticket system (save for the Erie Section), your ticket lists the toll for Exit B3, which you pay at the Canaan barrier.

I suppose if you really wanted to press it, you could say the ticket system ends at Exit B3, such that it and points west are in the system, whereas it and points east are not. But points east are on the MassPike's ticket system, and you can't help but enter that system going eastbound from B3 since there's no exit at West Stockbridge. So based on that, I'd say the entire Berkshire Spur is on one ticket system or another.