I-87-I-90 odd connection

[Mergingtraffic]

Anybody know the story behind this Albany area interchange?

If you want to continue on I-87 NB you have to bypass the beginning of the Northway on the right and go northwest and double back east for a quick second along I-90 to turn northward on the Northway that is now I-87.  Confused?  I am!

The Northway looks like it abruptly ends at Exit 1D.  Was it supposed to end like that?  Why can't I-87 just connect over Western and Schoolhouse Road!?


http://www.google.com/maps?q=lake+george,+ny&hl=en&ll=42.693476,-73.838768&spn=0.033624,0.063&sll=41.500765,-72.757507&sspn=1.09639,2.015991&hnear=Lake+George,+Warren,+New+York&t=m&z=14

[agentsteel53]

there's a bit of historical accident there, in that the original "Thruway" follows 87NB to 90WB around the arc. 

that said, I have no idea why not build a direct Thruway/Northway connection.  might have to do with the relative timings of when the Northway and Free I-90 were opened.

[agentsteel53]

having driven the Northway only once, and gone around the loop to clinch I-87... looks like I'm missing the southernmost segment of the Northway.  well I'll be danged.  given the presence of tollbooths, the junction doesn't feel as nuttery to drive as it looks on the map.  (it was also overcast, so I had no idea I had just done a big hitch in the middle of things.)

well dang, someday I'm gonna have to go back and do the last mile to US-20 so I can properly claim to have done the entire NY toll road system!

IIRC, it's just signed as "to US 20" so I didn't think I was missing more than a ramp.

[vdeane]

It's because the Thruway came first.  It is the through route, not I-90, and certainly not I-87.  I-87 isn't even considered to be a single road by locals - I-87 refers to the Northway, and the Thruway is just the Thruway with no number.  There were plans for E-ZPass-only ramps to provide a high-speed I-87 connection, but they got cancelled for some reason.

The "exit 1D" on Google is erroneous.  That exit has no number (and came after the initial construction of the Northway).

Way back when, I-87 was intended to continue as frontage roads alongside the Thruway between I-787 and the Northway.  Eventually NY politicians decided to just multiplex with the Thruway instead; unlike with I-88, there were no special provisions here (such as widening or toll discounts).

[Alps]

having driven the Northway only once, and gone around the loop to clinch I-87... looks like I'm missing the southernmost segment of the Northway.  well I'll be danged.  given the presence of tollbooths, the junction doesn't feel as nuttery to drive as it looks on the map.  (it was also overcast, so I had no idea I had just done a big hitch in the middle of things.)

well dang, someday I'm gonna have to go back and do the last mile to US-20 so I can properly claim to have done the entire NY toll road system!

IIRC, it's just signed as "to US 20" so I didn't think I was missing more than a ramp.

Northway isn't part of the toll road system, it's just part of the freeway system.

there's a bit of historical accident there, in that the original "Thruway" follows 87NB to 90WB around the arc. 

that said, I have no idea why not build a direct Thruway/Northway connection.  might have to do with the relative timings of when the Northway and Free I-90 were opened.

As for the connection, I-87 freeway was supposed to follow the Northway south, paralleling the Thruway to I-787, then tie into that stub to make a beltway of Albany (tied together by NY 7). Naturally, the Thruway Authority wasn't keen on a parallel free road and nixed the idea. Roadgeeks have floated the proposal to have an ETC-only connection to connect I-87 directly, which would free up the I-90/I-87 interchange, add traffic to the Northway, and just make sense from a connectivity perspective. No idea why that hasn't been done - I guess the NYSTA feels that they're not going to make more money by spending on it, or their priority is widening the Thruway system instead of fixing that interchange. They did just finish the major I-84 interchange project, on the heels of the I-287 interchange (and that one was even free), so I don't know what's next.

[agentsteel53]

Northway isn't part of the toll road system, it's just part of the freeway system.

here I thought the Northway was tolled.  shows how much I forget.  I remember visualizing the toll ticket and seeing an auxiliary set of exits - that must have been the Berkshire Extension.

so I have all of 87 (which I was careful to ensure), and am missing a small freeway stub - 87 to 20 connector.  does that freeway stub have an internal reference number? 

[Alps]

Northway isn't part of the toll road system, it's just part of the freeway system.

here I thought the Northway was tolled.  shows how much I forget.  I remember visualizing the toll ticket and seeing an auxiliary set of exits - that must have been the Berkshire Extension.

so I have all of 87 (which I was careful to ensure), and am missing a small freeway stub - 87 to 20 connector.  does that freeway stub have an internal reference number? 

www.alpsroads.net/roads/ny/northway/

[PurdueBill]

I recall when I was younger and the family would take somewhat-frequent trips through that area; the original interchange with the Northway was just another typical Thruway trumpet.  The reconstruction to the somewhat higher-powered but still less-than-ideal current interchange went on for quite some time--doing all that while keeping the existing in service wasn't super easy.

[agentsteel53]

www.alpsroads.net/roads/ny/northway/

and now I know!



are we sure these aren't sawn-off letter "b", "d", "p", or "q"?  in a pinch, those would do as a faux-"a" of that style.

[machias]

www.alpsroads.net/roads/ny/northway/

and now I know!



are we sure these aren't sawn-off letter "b", "d", "p", or "q"?  in a pinch, those would do as a faux-"a" of that style.

That style of the "a" showed up on quite a few signs along the Thruway back in the 80s. Here's one that was west of Exit 48A.

[agentsteel53]

weird!  I just can't imagine them asking AGA to make a custom run of a letter "a" just for themselves. 

[Henry]

Well, at least it's not Breezewood!