US-15 freeway opens in NY State

[lepidopteran]

The "missing link" of US-15 in NY State opened, on or around Oct. 8.  This was the five mile gap between the PA border and the town of Lindley.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/press/10082013-new-steuben-county-expressway

Although the announcement says that the highway will be numbered I-99 at some future date, much of the route seems to be already signed as such on Google Maps.

[NE2]

The Goog is dumb.

[jemacedo9]

...does anyone know what else needs to be done, if anything, before US 15 between I-86 and I-180 can be designated I-99?

[english si]

Given PA hasn't redesignated it, probably there is something that needs to be done.

NY is pretty sharp at converting NY17 into I-86 when they have upgraded sections that end on NHS routes and link to the Interstate network. The next bit of NHS heading south is US6, though that doesn't matter as US15 south of Corning is I-99 in law, so AASHTO can be overruled like with I-69E. However, if it was going to be I-99 from early on, surely you'd apply beforehand? And is the state line a valid end of the freeway

Also there's the question of truncating US15 or not - which would need PA and AASHTO blessing.

Has anyone been on the road and seen whether they have made it obvious that this will be signed as I-99 in the near future?

I also can't imagine NY not also having the whole Rochester route redesignated as I-99 when they do a bit of it. Kill all birds with one stone.

[vdeane]

That is a hangup, there... NYSDOT has no interest in a concurrency between US 15 and I-99, but PennDot refuses to consider truncating US 15 to Williamsport.

NYSDOT also has no plans to make I-390 I-99, and there current exit numbers for US 15 would be problematic if they did.
http://www.nysroads.com/us15list.php

[Roadsguy]

Forget truncating it to Williamsport; it should be truncated to Harrisburg (at the 15/581 interchange). US 15 is pretty redundant north of there, and will be even more so when the CSVT opens, making a complete almost-freeway route from Harrisburg to Williamsport and upstate NY.

[CentralPAGal]

Forget truncating it to Williamsport; it should be truncated to Harrisburg (at the 15/581 interchange). US 15 is pretty redundant north of there,

This^

and will be even more so when the CSVT opens, making a complete almost-freeway route from Harrisburg to Williamsport and upstate NY.

You mean IF it opens.

...does anyone know what else needs to be done, if anything, before US 15 between I-86 and I-180 can be designated I-99?

Would they possibly need to wait for a redesigned US 15/220/I-180 interchange in Williamsport?

As an aside, it's nice to see that stretch open finally. I remember going to Watkins Glen NY as a kid, it was always a slow go up the old awful two lane portions. The several years I did go up there though,. I got to see some of the portions expanded to 4 lanes (the Mansfield bypass comes to mind, and eventually the next portion that ended just before the state line, and possibly another section or two).

[WNYroadgeek]

That is a hangup, there... NYSDOT has no interest in a concurrency between US 15 and I-99, but PennDot refuses to consider truncating US 15 to Williamsport.

Solution: Multiplex US 15 with US 220 from Williamsport to Piatt Township, then route it along modern day PA 287 (which would be decommissioned as a result) from US 220 to the NY/PA line. Then route it along it's former surface alignment to NY 417.

[Mapmikey]

I drove the new US 15 freeway in New York on Saturday.  It has I-99 reference markers.

My two cents on US 15 designation:  Have it replace US 220 north of Williamsport and truncate US 220 at Bedford, PA...

Mapmikey

[AsphaltPlanet]

Any updated pics?

[hbelkins]

I drove the new US 15 freeway in New York on Saturday.  It has I-99 reference markers.

My two cents on US 15 designation:  Have it replace US 220 north of Williamsport and truncate US 220 at Bedford, PA...

Mapmikey

I'm not sure there is a major need for US 220 or US 15 or any US route number on the segment between Williamsport and Waverly/Sayre. It's certainly not a major through route, and the quality of the route is such that I think it would discourage a lot of truck traffic.

[Mapmikey]

A different option would be to extend US15 over PA/NY 14 to Elmira, then over NY 13 through Ithaca to I-81 Cortland...

Mapmikey

[briantroutman]

My two cents on US 15 designation:  Have it replace US 220 north of Williamsport and truncate US 220 at Bedford, PA...

A different option would be to extend US15 over PA/NY 14 to Elmira, then over NY 13 through Ithaca to I-81 Cortland...

And herein lies the problem with roadgeeks' desire to renumber highways to fit the numbering grid, eliminate overlapping designations, etc. Neither one of the routes you suggested (Harrisburg/Williamsport/Sayre or Williamsport/Elmira/Ithaca/Cortland) constitute significant traffic corridors in reality. On the other hand, Harrisburg/Williamsport/Corning–and then by extension, Rochester/Buffalo and Baltimore/Washington on either end, ARE very significant regional (and, in fact, international) corridors. Stop at the Wegmans Market Café at the I-180/US 15 overlap in Williamsport, and you'll see massive tour busses loaded with Asian tourists traveling from Toronto or Niagara Falls to Washington, people from upstate New York headed to the Chesapeake Region, Ontarians making a long trek to Florida, and so on.

And 15 provides a single long-distance corridor designation for many of these travelers. That is one of the reasons why I don't think an extension of the I-99 designation would be of much value. Southbound to Williamsport, the vast majority of travelers continue due south or easterly–very few are bound for Altoona, Bedford, or elsewhere in Appalachia.

If anything, an extension of the I-83 designation would be most appropriate, despite the issues with the CSVT and non-freeway section of US 11/15 between Port Treverton and Amity Hall mentioned ad nauseam on other threads. If the CSVT does get built, is there any reason that I-83 couldn't be extended in both directions with a gap in the middle–and "TO I-83" signage in either direction? Such obstacles haven't stopped I-73/74, I-495 in New York, and countless others. Obviously the ultimate goal would be to upgrade that section to a full freeway eventually.

[briantroutman]

it should be truncated to Harrisburg (at the 15/581 interchange). US 15 is pretty redundant north of there...

Redundant with what? As far as most local and regional travelers are concerned, 15 IS the through designation. It's the other designations that are redundant.

11 serves an entirely different corridor headed to NEPA–and with the presence of I-81 south of Harrisburg, the "north of 15" and "south of 15" sections of 11 serve entirely different audiences. I-180 is a local designation serving Williamsport-Muncy-Milton commuters and shoppers. 147 is either the "other part of 180" or a local road serving small towns on the East Shore south of Sunbury.

So 15 may be co-signed with many other designations between Harrisburg and Williamsport, but not one of these is a single designation that describes the entirety of this busy corridor that regional travelers are actually using.

[froggie]

Neither one of the routes you suggested (Harrisburg/Williamsport/Sayre or Williamsport/Elmira/Ithaca/Cortland) constitute significant traffic corridors in reality.

You'd be surprised.  Perhaps not Interstate-level traffic corridors, but NY 13 is a significant regional connector.  Enough to where a good chunk of it has traffic volumes that warrant 4-lane expansion.  NY 13 from Horseheads to Cortland is also on the NHS.  Entirely appropriate for a US route designation and I agree with Mapmikey that it could make a logical US 15 extension.

[hbelkins]

There's an ARC corridor spur that goes to Elmira/Horseheads, Put US 15 on it and let I-99 run independently from a point just south of the state line to Painted Post/Corning.

[jemacedo9]

That is a hangup, there... NYSDOT has no interest in a concurrency between US 15 and I-99, but PennDot refuses to consider truncating US 15 to Williamsport.

I wonder why this is the case?  What purpose would it serve PennDOT to leave the US 15 designation while adding I-99?  I understand, I suppose, PennDOT not wanting to truncate US 220 at, say Bedford, since US 220 does run a significant distance north of Williamsport.

Assuming I-99 gets completed north of I-80, and if PennDOT wants to keep US route mileage, I would like to see:
- US 220 truncated at Bedford and US 15 truncated at Camp Hill. 
- US 522 could be extended north along a US 11 / US 522 concurrency, then follow US 15 north of Shamokin Dam to Williamsport, then follow US 220 from there to I-86/NY 17.

[english si]

There's an ARC corridor spur that goes to Elmira/Horseheads, Put US 15 on it and let I-99 run independently from a point just south of the state line to Painted Post/Corning.

PA287-PA348-NY348-NY14, I believe. Also its in the NHS.

That extends the bit renumbered I-99 two exits southwards into PA and keeps US15 on the same corridor (ish) for now. Hopefully a solution like that will be acceptable to both states.

PS - I can't believe we're working out how to get I-99 signed!

Maybe all will be revealed after Thursday's (or is it tomorrow - getting mixed signals, certainly AASHTO's annual meeting is this week) meeting of the Special Committee on Route Numbering.

[WNYroadgeek]

There's an ARC corridor spur that goes to Elmira/Horseheads, Put US 15 on it and let I-99 run independently from a point just south of the state line to Painted Post/Corning.

PA287-PA348-NY348-NY14, I believe. Also its in the NHS.

NY 348 has been decommissioned for over 30 years (and it was in Clinton County). You mean PA/NY 328?

[english si]

NY 348 has been decommissioned for over 30 years (and it was in Clinton County). You mean PA/NY 328?

Yes.

Looking on OSM, the freeway is only half open (southbound lanes) - surely that isn't right?

[mtantillo]

NY 348 has been decommissioned for over 30 years (and it was in Clinton County). You mean PA/NY 328?

Yes.

Looking on OSM, the freeway is only half open (southbound lanes) - surely that isn't right?

That was correct for a while.  The southbound lanes were opened first because the tie ins to the old road crossed the NB lanes, and more time was needed to adjust those. 

[sbeaver44]

Just drove NB today.  The first two exits (Presho and NY 417) have mileage based exits (6 and 8).
All exits have a "Formerly Exit X" plate.  The final exit for NY 17 is still signed Exit 4 but the gore point says Exit  13.  Hmmmmm....

[Dougtone]

That is a hangup, there... NYSDOT has no interest in a concurrency between US 15 and I-99, but PennDot refuses to consider truncating US 15 to Williamsport.

If that is the case, I wouldn't find it far fetched if US 15 ended at the PA/NY border on its current alignment down the road.  There's precedence of such (see US 220), as silly as it may be.

You'd be surprised.  Perhaps not Interstate-level traffic corridors, but NY 13 is a significant regional connector.  Enough to where a good chunk of it has traffic volumes that warrant 4-lane expansion.  NY 13 from Horseheads to Cortland is also on the NHS.  Entirely appropriate for a US route designation and I agree with Mapmikey that it could make a logical US 15 extension.

Spot on about NY 13 as a route of regional importance.  While I don't think you'd ever see an extension of US 15 or US 220 along NY 13, it is a well traveled route between Horseheads and Cortland.  I could definitely see widening the road, at least between Ithaca and NY 281 in Cortland, but I don't think that registers on NYSDOT's radar.  I'd like to see that happen, but I don't see it happening.

There's an ARC corridor spur that goes to Elmira/Horseheads, Put US 15 on it and let I-99 run independently from a point just south of the state line to Painted Post/Corning.

On the Pennsylvania side of the corridor, PA 328 would certainly need improvement if they were to change the route designation to US 15.  It's a fairly local route (I think most of the traffic is just between PA and Elmira) and I don't recall much traffic on that route during the times I've driven it.  PA 287 would be up to snuff, especially since that part of the road was US 15 until the new freeway alignment was opened between Tioga and Lawrenceville (at the border with New York).  In New York, NY 328 and NY 14 are four lanes and divided in many sections.

[vdeane]

Doesn't US 220 technically enter NY for a VERY small distance (up to old 17)?

I don't think AASHTO likes the idea of US 15 ending at the border (or I-99 for that matter); I seem to recall a roadmeet mention of NYSDOT proposing it and having it rejected.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Doesn't US 220 technically enter NY for a VERY small distance (up to old 17)?

I don't think AASHTO likes the idea of US 15 ending at the border (or I-99 for that matter); I seem to recall a roadmeet mention of NYSDOT proposing it and having it rejected.

220 enters NY for .10 of a mile, going to old 17, yes.

Historically, 15 ended at the NY state line for 1936-7, but that was because of the NY ego.