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[1966man]

Does anyone know why the Southern Tier Expwy diverges so far north from the original NY 17 (today's NY 417) between Olean and Corning?

[webny99]

I'd be interested if someone with more historical knowledge wanted to weigh in here, but it looks like parts of the original Olean to Corning alignment would not have been suitable for upgrades to four-lane divided without a major overhaul.

And of course, I-390 was already there and/or being built anyways, so shifting the new alignment north to meet I-390 further north would have reduced the amount of new construction needed, presumably at not much additional cost.

[empirestate]

There was also already an auxiliary route (17F) through the area, so it was already part of the corridor. And the importance of the principal route in that area would have waned along with the oil industry in the region. This would have made it more important to serve Hornell than Wellsville.

[Rothman]

More than 16 years ago, Wellsville lobbied NYSDOT to create I-386 to serve their community, arguing there was a plant there (Arco, maybe?).

[GenExpwy]

The main road east from Hornell was not NY 17F (which went away a loooong time ago; as Steuben CR 119, the road looks like it would be a through route only by West Virginia standards) — but rather the old NY 70 from North Hornell to US 15 near Avoca (“Antlers Junction” in Region 6 parlance, NY 70 is now CR 70A).

I agree that Hornell, not Wellsville, was the focus for economic development, considering that this is an ARC corridor. This has been validated by the success of Alstom in Hornell, which has rebuilt a huge number of subway cars, which are brought in by truck. There is also significant dairy-processing business in the Cuba–Friendship area.

Another factor for the expressway location could have been Rochester ↔ Olean–Salamanca–Jamestown traffic. NY 36 between Dansville and North Hornell is generally adequate to handle it, but I don’t think you would want to send it through downtown Hornell and a bunch of 2-lane roads in Allegany County.

[Rothman]

Hornell is also where NYSDOT Region 6 is...

[empirestate]

Hornell is also where NYSDOT Region 6 is...

Interesting! Where else can we see examples of road projects being made more favorable to the region office itself? (I have noticed, for example, that the Wolf Road area seems pretty high-powered by NYS infrastructure standards.)

[Rothman]

Hornell is also where NYSDOT Region 6 is...

Interesting! Where else can we see examples of road projects being made more favorable to the region office itself? (I have noticed, for example, that the Wolf Road area seems pretty high-powered by NYS infrastructure standards.)

Wolf Road is a reference route, but was long before NYSDOT moved there (around 2004).  Also, I believe the electronic pedestrian signage at 50 Wolf Road was installed originally as an experiment by NYSDOT to see its effectiveness.  Other than that, I don't think the MO has had much effect on decisions in the area (slip ramp from Wolf Road to I-87 NB predated the move).  Ah, I suppose linking the parking lots behind the office buildings was a decent one...

Not sure if Region 6 even existed back when NY 17 was rerouted.  NYSDOT itself hasn't been around for that long.

[empirestate]

Wolf Road is a reference route, but was long before NYSDOT moved there (around 2004).

But Region 1 was HQ'ed on Wolf Road prior to that, wasn't it? (Not prior to the reference route, though.)

[Rothman]

Wolf Road is a reference route, but was long before NYSDOT moved there (around 2004).

But Region 1 was HQ'ed on Wolf Road prior to that, wasn't it? (Not prior to the reference route, though.)

Nope.  It was on the campus.  I might be off with the year, but it was in the early 2000s.

[Alps]

Hornell is also where NYSDOT Region 6 is...

Interesting! Where else can we see examples of road projects being made more favorable to the region office itself? (I have noticed, for example, that the Wolf Road area seems pretty high-powered by NYS infrastructure standards.)

I know it's veering OT, but NJDOT is nowhere near a state highway.

[vdeane]

The 50 Wolf Road building was originally DEC.  Main Office was in the State Office Campus, and Region 1 was on Holland Ave in Albany.  Then DEC moved downtown and Main Office moved to Wolf Road.  Region 1 also moved to State Street in Schenectady at some point before joining Main Office at Wolf Road about 10 years ago.

Region 6 is interesting to me... I've always wondered why it's in Hornell (which is basically the middle of nowhere) rather than Corning/Elmira.

[webny99]

Region 6 is interesting to me... I've always wondered why it's in Hornell (which is basically the middle of nowhere) rather than Corning/Elmira.

I guess Hornell is more central than Elmira, but still an interesting choice over Corning...

[empirestate]

Region 6 is interesting to me... I've always wondered why it's in Hornell (which is basically the middle of nowhere) rather than Corning/Elmira.

I guess Hornell is more central than Elmira, but still an interesting choice over Corning...

Maybe there was some existing state property in Hornell when the region office was stood up?

[vdeane]

Region 6 is interesting to me... I've always wondered why it's in Hornell (which is basically the middle of nowhere) rather than Corning/Elmira.

I guess Hornell is more central than Elmira, but still an interesting choice over Corning...

Let's see...

Hornell: 32 miles to the western boundary, 58 to the eastern, 79 to the original eastern*
Corning: 65 miles to the western boundary, 25 to the eastern, 48 to the original eastern*

So Hornell is more central now but Corning would have been originally.  Not that all the Regions are central.  Regions 1 and 7 certainly aren't.  Region 5 isn't geographically, though it probably is when weighted by population.

*Tioga County was in Region 6 prior to being transferred to Region 9

[Buffaboy]

You ask a great question, and it's something I've always noticed looking at a map but never really paid attention to.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Keep in mind, a lot of the STE is built on railroad rights-of-way.

From Binghamton to to Corning, the road is built on the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad ROW (abandoned in 1957). From Corning to Kanona, it is on the Erie Railroad Rochester Division ROW.