NY 17/"I-86"

[Rothman]

I would like to see far more Interstate 86 signs erected where there currently aren't any, even if upgrades to Interstate Standards aren't completed yet. Maybe it would give some incentive to get a move on making the Interstate upgrade improvements. After all, the Interstate conversion of the entire corridor was once planned to be completed by 2009 (or at least that's what then-Governor George Pataki said in 1998, was he off by at least a few decades).

Your opinion is noted and I think NYSDOT will continue to do its best to comply with FHWA and AASHTO.

[seicer]

Hey, if we wanted that, we'd bring back Cuomo 😉

[vdeane]

I would like to see far more Interstate 86 signs erected where there currently aren't any, even if upgrades to Interstate Standards aren't completed yet. Maybe it would give some incentive to get a move on making the Interstate upgrade improvements. After all, the Interstate conversion of the entire corridor was once planned to be completed by 2009 (or at least that's what then-Governor George Pataki said in 1998, was he off by at least a few decades).

Not sure how much of an incentive it would be, given that this part and this part are still years away at best (the former at least has a project being studied; the latter, I have no clue about).  And in North Carolina, where "future I-26" shields are posted that look just like regular interstate shields, if anything it seems to have deflated any push there might have been to get things finished.

Yeah, 2009 turned out to be a bit off.  The conversion ended up being more expensive than expected and fell way down the state's priority list when money got tight (for a while, it was even off the list entirely).

[Rothman]

I would like to see far more Interstate 86 signs erected where there currently aren't any, even if upgrades to Interstate Standards aren't completed yet. Maybe it would give some incentive to get a move on making the Interstate upgrade improvements. After all, the Interstate conversion of the entire corridor was once planned to be completed by 2009 (or at least that's what then-Governor George Pataki said in 1998, was he off by at least a few decades).

Not sure how much of an incentive it would be, given that this part and this part are still years away at best (the former at least has a project being studied; the latter, I have no clue about).  And in North Carolina, where "future I-26" shields are posted that look just like regular interstate shields, if anything it seems to have deflated any push there might have been to get things finished.

Yeah, 2009 turned out to be a bit off.  The conversion ended up being more expensive than expected and fell way down the state's priority list when money got tight (for a while, it was even off the list entirely).

I've got a hunch that the State is regretting putting the conversion back on the table. The big money came in and a newer crew of leadership approved a bunch of megaprojects without knowing the sultry history of some of them, leading to "unexpected" overruns (i.e., overruns the old crew knew were inevitable, but held to a party line the new crew took as the gospel truth).  So, all of a sudden, there's a lot of sweating over available funding as NYSDOT lumbers towards its upcoming capital program update.

Eh, just my opinion on how I see things unrolling.  The projects will probably still get done, but probably at a cost to the "core" program.

We shall see.  Probably.

(personal opinion emphasized)

[abqtraveler]

Well I would think that the NY peeps would have posted this already, but I did not know that this I-86 EB shield existed before Saturday.  (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10219981070077597&set=pcb.10219981105758489)

And this particular shield has been there since 2008 at least... wow.

It's interesting how NYSDOT is being very inconsistent at this particular interchange. Given the overhead sign with I-86, there are no ground-mounted I-86 signs, only NY-17 signs. But...approaching the same interchange from the opposite direction on NY-52, there is a JCT NY-17/I-86 sign. Just to add to more of the confusion of what's really going on with the I-86 conversion along the stretch.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7907776,-74.7343433,3a,54.8y,172.37h,80.75t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sknU6_gdVkhe1P8R5um-FUw!2e0!5s20220901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[dzheng35]

Does anyone know when right-of-way acquisition will begin for the Hale Eddy section and if they have a preliminary design ready yet now that they will carry out that project according to the STIP program?

[amroad17]

Found this interesting mileage sign while looking at GSV a couple of days ago.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/WkpGDsKbkghfMswL9

This is at Exit 59A on I-86 near Waverly, NY.  Also, the mileage on the sign is correct.

[webny99]

Found this interesting mileage sign while looking at GSV a couple of days ago.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/WkpGDsKbkghfMswL9

This is at Exit 59A on I-86 near Waverly, NY.  Also, the mileage on the sign is correct.

The most interesting thing here is that this is east of Corning, so you'd think Corning would be the city to appear here. That being said, Erie does seem to be NYSDOT's preferred control city for I-86 WB, as seen on these new installs at I-86/I-390.

[Rothman]

Having Erie on I-86 EB is a trick.

[webny99]

Having Erie on I-86 EB is a trick.

Whoops, I meant WB of course. Although EB on the western I-86 would also be a trick.

[machias]

Found this interesting mileage sign while looking at GSV a couple of days ago.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/WkpGDsKbkghfMswL9

This is at Exit 59A on I-86 near Waverly, NY.  Also, the mileage on the sign is correct.

The most interesting thing here is that this is east of Corning, so you'd think Corning would be the city to appear here. That being said, Erie does seem to be NYSDOT's preferred control city for I-86 WB, as seen on these new installs at I-86/I-390.

I much rather the regions were consistent with "Erie" vs "Erie Pa". Personally, I prefer "Erie Pa" but that's because I lived in Jamestown for a while and the locals tended to throw "PA" on anything that wasn't in New York anyway.

[shadyjay]

Drove NY 17 from the Thruway out to Liberty/Parksville over the weekend.  The actual mainline seemed like its interstate-grade to me... just some of the ramps seem sub-standard. 

And the pavement... my god... the pavement was quite rough in sections especially WB between Woodbury and I-84. 

Still odd that there's some I-86 shields covered up and some fully exposed to motorists, not just the ones in Liberty, but also the ones on I-84 that straight up give one the impression that you're exiting onto I-86 West. 

My I-86/NY 17  photo gallery:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/albums/72177720312292672/

[machias]

Drove NY 17 from the Thruway out to Liberty/Parksville over the weekend.  The actual mainline seemed like its interstate-grade to me... just some of the ramps seem sub-standard. 

And the pavement... my god... the pavement was quite rough in sections especially WB between Woodbury and I-84. 

Still odd that there's some I-86 shields covered up and some fully exposed to motorists, not just the ones in Liberty, but also the ones on I-84 that straight up give one the impression that you're exiting onto I-86 West. 

My I-86/NY 17  photo gallery:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/albums/72177720312292672/

Wow, some of those guide signs are interesting in their design. There's a New Mexico approach vibe going on with some of the "standards"

[cockroachking]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCXXbCBumrH/?img_index=1

I-86 is now officially extended east to Exit 67, per NYSDOT's Instagram account.

Out with the old, in with the new! A 32-mile stretch of State Route 17 in Broome and Tioga counties has been officially designated as Interstate 86. The portion between Exit 60 in Waverly and Exit 67 in Endicott was modernized to meet interstate standards and enhance safety and resiliency. It's a big win for Southern Tier travelers!

[pderocco]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCXXbCBumrH/?img_index=1

I-86 is now officially extended east to Exit 67, per NYSDOT's Instagram account.

Out with the old, in with the new! A 32-mile stretch of State Route 17 in Broome and Tioga counties has been officially designated as Interstate 86. The portion between Exit 60 in Waverly and Exit 67 in Endicott was modernized to meet interstate standards and enhance safety and resiliency. It's a big win for Southern Tier travelers!

So there are still a few miles to go, to close the gap. Is that because of the skinny bridges over the Sequehanna River?

[The Ghostbuster]

Wikipedia's Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania-New York) page has been updated to include this eastern extension. Google Maps (with apologies to NE2) has not been updated and still shows NY 17 riding solo between Exits 61 and 71.

[Bobby5280]

Meanwhile farther South some 9/2024 and 10/2024 Google Street View imagery shows some I-86 signage visible at the I-84/NY-17 interchange.

[Rothman]

Meanwhile farther South some 9/2024 and 10/2024 Google Street View imagery shows some I-86 signage visible at the I-84/NY-17 interchange.

In NY's case, shields in the field do not necessarily coincide with formally designated segments.

[cockroachking]

Meanwhile farther South some 9/2024 and 10/2024 Google Street View imagery shows some I-86 signage visible at the I-84/NY-17 interchange.

Those have been there since 2012-ish IIRC. They were covered at first but the covers have since "fallen off." Make of that what you will.

On a slightly related note, the Project Scoping Report for Orange/Sullivan County widening/reconstruction was released back in September, and can be found here. In Appendix A, there is a list of all existing non-standard/non-conforming features, which includes a lot along the segment that is "signed" as I-86, from the county line to I-84.

[vdeane]

Wikipedia's Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania-New York) page has been updated to include this eastern extension. Google Maps (with apologies to NE2) has not been updated and still shows NY 17 riding solo between Exits 61 and 71.

I swear, these Wikipedia reports are becoming so common that I'm starting to wonder if they're some kind of covert resistance to the AARoads Wiki splitting off.

[The Ghostbuster]

I know the information on Wikipedia shouldn't be treated as gospel, but I do use the website a lot. Getting back to Interstate 86 talk, I would have hoped that Interstate 86 would have been fully designated and signed between Interstate 90 and Interstate 81 by now.

[Rothman]

I know the information on Wikipedia shouldn't be treated as gospel, but I do use the website a lot. Getting back to Interstate 86 talk, I would have hoped that Interstate 86 would have been fully designated and signed between Interstate 90 and Interstate 81 by now.

Complain to FHWA about them being too picky.

[abqtraveler]

Meanwhile farther South some 9/2024 and 10/2024 Google Street View imagery shows some I-86 signage visible at the I-84/NY-17 interchange.

That signage has been there since at least 2015, when a couple of interchanges in the vicinity of I-84 were reconstructed. I'm guessing the I-86 signs were installed, in anticipation that that stretch would be approved for interstate designation, but it sounds like they discovered more design issues that need to be resolved before that can happen.

[dantheman]

I am puzzled by one aspect of the new diverging diamond interchange at NY 17/Future I-86 and NY 32 in Woodbury. Going north on 32 out of the interchange, there are two ways to access Nininger Road - a left turn across oncoming traffic, or a loop ramp to the right. Why do both of these exist?

In other places, I could see an argument that the left turn is for traffic from 17 EB/32 thru traffic, and the right turn is for traffic from 17 WB/the Thruway, so that neither has to cross a ton of lanes. But, there are two issues with that logic here:
1) There is a stoplight where the lanes from the Thruway merge with 32 NB, so traffic from either one would have no problem getting to a ramp on the opposite side
2) The signage for the two ramps is different. The one on the left says "CR 64/Nininger Road" and the one on the right says "Monroe." These two are effectively the same - Nininger Road goes to Monroe. I could see this causing even more confusion than necessary, where someone on the way to Monroe who doesn't know the road name cuts right at the last second, or vice versa.

Why was the left turn across oncoming traffic ever built here, when the ramp on the right could've handled the same job just fine? 

[webny99]

I am puzzled by one aspect of the new diverging diamond interchange at NY 17/Future I-86 and NY 32 in Woodbury. Going north on 32 out of the interchange, there are two ways to access Nininger Road - a left turn across oncoming traffic, or a loop ramp to the right. Why do both of these exist?

In other places, I could see an argument that the left turn is for traffic from 17 EB/32 thru traffic, and the right turn is for traffic from 17 WB/the Thruway, so that neither has to cross a ton of lanes.
...


Why was the left turn across oncoming traffic ever built here, when the ramp on the right could've handled the same job just fine? 

At first I think you stated the most likely answer - that it was done to reduce weaving in that very condensed space between the ramps.

But on second thought, it also helps spread the traffic load out quite a bit: instead of forcing traffic from NY 32/NY 17 EB to collect in the right lane, some traffic can exit on the left instead. If traffic during both signal phases was constantly flowing into the roundabout on the Woodbury side, it would inevitably back up onto NY 32 and onto the NY 17 ramps very quickly. The backup would then be magnified by traffic only having one lane to be in to get down to Nininger Rd, which then leads to gridlock. Instead, both directions of approaching traffic can choose which side to use based on traffic conditions and which direction they're heading - spreading the load between the two roundabouts.

In short, funneling all traffic through one roundabout is not sustainable during peak traffic periods, so even though it is an odd configuration, it's important to have redundancy via a second access point to keep traffic flowing through the area.