Interstate 287

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Interstate 287 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	98.65 mi (158.73 km)
Formed:	1961[1]
South end:	I-95/NJTP in Edison Twp, NJ (continues as NJ 440)
Major junctions:	US 1 in Edison, NJ I-78 in Bedminster, NJ I-80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ I-87/NY 17 in Hillburn, NY PIP in Clarkstown, NY GSP in Chestnut Ridge, NY US 9 in Tarrytown, NY I-87 in Elmsford, NY I-684 near Rye
North end:	I-95 in Rye, NY
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Interstate 287 (abbreviated I-287) is a major interstate highway in New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey as well as the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York. I-287 follows a roughly horseshoe-shaped route. Both of its termini are located at Interstate 95. The route through New Jersey is sometimes referred to as the Middlesex Freeway.

Similar to what still exists today with the New Jersey portion of Interstate 95, Interstate 287 was long disjointed due to community opposition. The New York stretch effectively ended at Suffern, and the New Jersey portion at U.S. Route 202 near Boonton, with a long gap between. Finally, by the late 1980s, construction commenced, with this missing section opening in November, 1993.

Contents 1 Major cities 2 Route description 2.1 New York 2.2 New Jersey 3 Exit list 3.1 New Jersey 3.2 New York 4 Length 5 Spur routes 6 Notes 7 Past plans 8 Missing link 9 Future plans 10 References 11 Sources 12 External links

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• Perth Amboy, New Jersey (via Route 440)
• Morristown, New Jersey
• Mahwah, New Jersey
• Suffern, New York
• Tappan Zee Bridge, New York
• White Plains, New York
• Rye, New York

[edit] Route description

[edit] New York

Working counter-clockwise, it begins in Port Chester, New York at the New England Thruway (Interstate 95). It is also called the Cross-Westchester Expressway until the New York State Thruway merge. Once merged with the northbound Thruway (and northbound Interstate 87), it crosses the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River between Tarrytown and Nyack, and continues west to Suffern. It then leaves the Thruway (and Interstate 87) and crosses the New Jersey border.

Legal Definition

The New York section of I-287 is defined as Interstate Route Connections 520 and 525 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.

[edit] New Jersey

It then bears southwest in New Jersey, intersecting Interstate 80 near Parsippany. It continues further south, through Morristown and eventually to Bedminster Township, where it intersects Interstate 78. The highway then curves southeast, heading towards Perth Amboy. The I-287 signage ends at its interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95); however, the roadway continues as Route 440 towards Staten Island.

[edit] Exit list

[edit] New Jersey

County	Municipality	#	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Southern terminus of Interstate 287 Interstate 287 southbound becomes Route 440 northbound
Middlesex	Edison Township		0.00	I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike) – Trenton, Philadelphia, Newark, New York City
		1A-B	0.93	US 1/CR 531 – Trenton, Newark
		2A-B	2.24	NJ 27, Lincoln Highway – Metuchen, New Brunswick	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		3	3.09	CR 501, New Durham Road – Edison, Metuchen	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	South Plainfield Boro	4	4.62	Durham Avenue – South Plainfield	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	South Plainfield Boro/Piscataway Township	5	5.88	CR 529, Stelton Road – Dunellen, Edison
	Piscataway Township	6	6.41	Washington Avenue – Piscataway, Dunellen	Northbound exit and entrance, southbound exit only
		7	7.27	South Randolphville Road – Piscataway, Middlesex
		8	8.47	Possumtown Road, Centennial Avenue – Middlesex, Highland Park
		9	9.95	CR 622, River Road – Middlesex, New Brunswick
Somerset	Franklin Township	10	10.27	CR 527, Easton Avenue – New Brunswick, Somerset, South Bound Brook
		12	12.30	Weston Canal Road
	Bridgewater Township	13	13.50	NJ 28, Union Avenue – Somerville, Middlesex	Split into 13A/B northbound
		14A	14.24	US 22 east – New York City
		14B	14.35	US 22 west to US 202/US 206 south – Bridgewater	Northbound exit and entrance, southbound entrance only
		17	17.86	US 202/US 206 south to US 22 west – Somerville, Flemington	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Bedminster Township	21	21.17	Interstate 78 – Allentown, New York City
		22A-B	22.21	US 202/US 206 – Pluckmein, Bedminster, Netcong
	Bernards Township	26A-B	26.48	CR 525, Mt. Airy Road – Basking Ridge, Liberty Corner, Bernardsville
		30A	29.94	North Maple Avenue – Basking Ridge
		30B		US 202
Morris	Morris Township	33	34.02	Harter Road – Jockey Hollow
	Town of Morristown	35	35.77 35.89	NJ 124, South Street, Madison Avenue – Morristown
		36	36.39 36.60	CR 510, Morris Avenue, Lafayette Avenue – Morristown	Split into 36A/B northbound
	Hanover Township	37	37.92 38.00	NJ 24 east – Springfield
		39	39.55	NJ 10 – Dover, Whippany
	Parsippany-Troy Hills Township	40	40.94	CR 511 – Parsippany
		41	42.02	Interstate 80 – Delaware Water Gap, New York City
		42	42.74	US 46, US 202 – Dover
		43	44.06	Intervale Road – Mountain Lakes
	Town of Boonton	44	44.95	Main Street – Boonton
		45	45.68	Woonton Street – Boonton
	Montville Township	47	47.11	US 202, Main Road – Montville, Lincoln Park
	Boro of Riverdale	52	53.14	NJ 23 – Butler, Wayne
		53	53.83	CR 511 ALT, Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike
Passaic	Boro of Wanaque	55	55.31	CR 511, CR 511 ALT, Ringwood Avenue
Bergen	Boro of Oakland	57	58.13	Skyline Drive, West Oakland Avenue
		58	58.86	US 202, Ramapo Valley Road – Oakland
	Boro of Oakland/Boro of Franklin Lakes	59	59.94	NJ 208 south – Franklin Lakes
	Mahwah Township	66	66.94	NJ 17 south – Mahwah	I-287/NJ 17 concurrency begins northbound, ends southbound
Interstate 287 and Route 17 continue north into New York. Route 17 becomes New York State Route 17.

[edit] New York

County	Location	Mile[1]	#	Destinations	Notes
Rockland	Suffern	0.00	New Jersey state line. Southern terminus of NY 17. Northern terminus of NJ 17. NY 17 forms a 0.65 mile concurrency with I-287.
		0.65		I-87/Thruway north/ NY 17 north
		Western terminus of I-87/Thruway/ I-287 concurrency.
	Montebello	3.47	14B	Airmont Road - Suffern, Montebello
	Spring Valley	6.78	Spring Valley toll barrier (commercial vehicles only). Westbound only.
		7.56	14A	Garden State Parkway Connector - New Jersey	No trucks across the state line.
	Clarkstown	8.29	14	NY 59 - Spring Valley, Nanuet
		10.15	13	Palisades Interstate Parkway - George Washington Bridge, Bear Mountain Bridge	No trucks.
		12.33	12	NY 303 - Congers, West Nyack
	Nyack	13.49	11	US 9W/ NY 59 - Nyack, West Nyack
	South Nyack	14.34	10	US 9W - Nyack, South Nyack	Southbound: no exit.
Rockland-Westchester county line		16.42	Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River. $4.00 toll eastbound.
Westchester	Tarrytown	18.24	9	US 9 - Tarrytown	Originally planned to include Interstate 487.[citation needed]
	Greenburgh	Eastern terminus of I-87/Thruway/ I-287 concurrency.
		19.78		I-87/Thruway south - New York City
		Eastbound: speed limit 55 miles per hour.
	Elmsford	20.55	1	NY 119 (Tarrytown Road) - Elmsford, Tarrytown	Eastbound exit is signed as exit 8A of I-87/Thruway. Access to Saw Mill Parkway north via NY 119 east.
		21.23	2	NY 9A - Elmsford	Westbound: exit only.
			3N-S	Sprain Brook Parkway	Sprain Pkwy north only accessible from I-287 west. East-to-north traffic: use the Saw Mill (at exit 1) to the Taconic.
		22.20	4	NY 100A - Hartsdale
	Greenburgh	23.01	5	NY 100/NY 119 (Tarrytown Road)	No entrance ramps. Westbound: NY 119 accessed via NY 100. Access to Bronx River Parkway.
	White Plains	24.10	6	NY 22 - White Plains, North White Plains	Access to Bronx River Parkway.
			7	Central Westchester Parkway - To Taconic State Pkwy - North White Plains	Westbound: exit only. Eastbound: entrance only.
		25.43	8W-E	Bloomingdale Road - To NY 119/NY 127 (west); Westchester Avenue (east)	Eastbound exit only.
		26.09	8	Westchester Avenue - Westchester Mall Place, White Plains	Westbound exit only.
	Harrison	26.69	9A	I-684 north - Brewster
		27.87	9S-N	Hutchinson River Pkwy - Whitestone Bridge, Merritt Parkway	Westchester Avenue acts as a collector/distributor road.
		28.57	10	NY 120/NY 120A - Purchase, Port Chester	Signed westbound as Bowman Avenue and Webb Avenue.
	Rye	30.67	11	US 1 (Boston Post Road) - Rye, Port Chester	Eastbound exit only.
		31.11	12	I-95 south - New York
		Eastbound traffic defaults onto I-95 north to New Haven. Westbound: speed limit 55 mph.

[edit] Length

• New Jersey: 67.54 miles (108.7 km)
• New York: 31.11 miles (50.06 km)
  • Overlap with Route 17: 0.65 miles
  • New York State Thruway mainline: 19.13 miles
  • Cross Westchester Expressway: 11.33 miles

[edit] Spur routes

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 87
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	New Jersey/New York
		New York
	New York
		New York
	New York

[edit] Notes

Interstate 287 holds an unusual distinction of being a multi-state three-digit interstate whose parent is an intrastate two-digit interstate making it the only three-digit interstate which goes through more states than its parent route.

In New Jersey, the 287 freeway is an important highway that links Mahwah to the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township. However, I-287 is known, even after rush hour, to have congestion problems, namely the portion that traverses through Bedminster and Bridgewater. In due time, the highway is expected to see some improvements in the Bridgewater area. The exit for US 202-206 is expected to be upgraded in the future.

The entire New York section is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority, although only the section shared with I-87 is part of the mainline Thruway. The rest of the NY section is called the Cross-Westchester Expressway. No tolls exist on this portion, and signs mentioning the Thruway Authority are rare along its length. This arrangement is similar to that of Interstate 84 in New York.

It is interesting to note that both ends of I-287 are at Interstate 95, yet its parent route is Interstate 87.

In New York, Thruway exits 8 and 8A and Cross-Westchester Expressway exit 1 are now combined in one interchange. Formerly, there were two separate interchanges: Thruway interchange 8, to the Cross-Westchester, and Cross-Westchester exit 1 (Saw Mill River Parkway to/from north only (use Thruway interchange 7A for to/from south), with access only to/from west (use interchange 3 for access to/from the east)). Due to the recent rebuilding of interchange 8, all traffic from I-287 east must remain on the Thruway beyond point where I-287 leaves it and exit at 8A, which leads to what appears to be a service road for the CWX, but ends up leading to the Saw Mill. However, to reach I-287 west from the Saw Mill south, one must merge with I-287 before merging with the Thruway (no 8A).

[edit] Past plans

I-287 was to continue past I-95 in Port Chester and was to cross Long Island Sound via the (unbuilt) Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge and absorb the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135). Then, I-287 was again to be extended into Jones Beach by merging with the Wantagh State Parkway in Merrick. These plans were dropped as a result of community opposition and environmental concerns. Evidence of this exists at the northern end of NY 135 at exit 14 (NY 25) where there is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange and the southern end at exit 1 where there is a non-conventional interchange with Merrick Road.^[2]

[edit] Missing link

I-287's uncompleted section between Mahwah and Montville was the source of a great deal of controversy dating back at least to 1965, and continuing on through its opening in 1993. Property owners along the proposed route fought its completion as part of the freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually, a route was agreed upon and permits allowing construction to begin were issued in 1988. However, officials in Rockland County, New York, filed a lawsuit on November 19, 1993, hours before the highway's official ribbon-cutting, seeking to block its opening, claiming the incompete interchange with the New York State Thruway was inadequate to handle the additional traffic. That interchange was not completed until late the following year, but the highway nevertheless opened as planned.

It was widely speculated in New Jersey at the time that then-Governor James Florio sought the highway's premature unveiling to bolster his ultimately unsuccessful re-election campaign.^{[citation needed]} Ultimately, however, the opening did not occur until over two weeks following the gubernatorial election, negating any impact it may have had.

[edit] Future plans

Due to the congestion along I-287 and the aging and decay of the over fifty-year old Tappan Zee Bridge, talks have begun regarding the possibility of replacing the bridge. A variety of transportation improvements are currently being considered, including a commuter rail system that would link the western shore of the Hudson River with Westchester County and New York City. Several alternatives are being considered to replace the bridge.^[3] Currently, the favored alternative is a cable-stayed span.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} New York Routes - Interstate 287 Junction List
2. ^ Oyster-Bay Rye Bridge, accessed July 30, 2006
3. ^ I-287 Proposed Alternatives, accessed July 12, 2006

[edit] Sources

• 2005 Rand McNally Road Atlas
• "Missing Link of Interstate Opens, Despite Lawsuit." The New York Times, November 20, 1993. Metropolitan Desk, p. 26.

[edit] External links

• Interstate 287 in New Jersey Straight Line Diagram from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
• Highway Heaven

Browse numbered routes
< NJ 284	NJ		I-295 >
< NY 286	NY		NY 289 >