U.S. Route 9 in New York

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U.S. Route 9
Length:	325.01 mi[1] (523.05 km)
Formed:	1926[2]
South end:	I-95/US 1/9 in Manhattan
Major junctions:	Henry Hudson Parkway in The Bronx I-87/I-287 in Tarrytown US 6/US 202/Bear Mountain Parkway in Peekskill I-84 in Fishkill I-90 near Castleton-on-Hudson US 20 near Castleton-on-Hudson US 4 in East Greenbush I-787 near Albany I-90 in Colonie I-87 near Troy, then near Saratoga Springs, Lake George and North Hudson US 11 in Champlain
North end:	I-87 in Champlain
Numbered highways in New York < NY 8 NY 9A > < NY 9B NY 9D > < NY 9D NY 9E > < NY 108 NY 109 > Interstates - U.S. Routes - State Routes

At 325 miles (523 km), U.S. Route 9's New York segment accounts for more than half the highway's total length. It runs from the New Jersey state line in the middle of the George Washington Bridge to a cul-de-sac just south of the Canadian border north of Champlain. It is the longest north-south U.S. highway in the state.

The highway's passage through the state offers a diverse sample of New York to a traveler, taking in busy urban neighborhoods, suburban strips and forested wilderness. It is Broadway in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. It uses parts of the old Albany Post Road in the Hudson Valley, where it passes the historic homes of a U.S. President and Gilded Age heir. It passes the center of New York political power in downtown Albany, and the patrician grandeur of Saratoga Springs. It penetrates into the deep recesses of the Adirondack Park and runs along the shore of Lake Champlain.

US 9 spawns more letter-suffixed state highways than any other route in New York, including the longest, 143-mile NY 9N. Outside of the cities it passes through, it is a mostly a two-lane road, save for two expressway segments in the mid-Hudson region. For much of its southern half it follows the Hudson River closely; in the north it tracks Interstate 87, the Adirondack Northway.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Hudson Valley 1.1.1 New York City 1.1.2 Westchester County 1.1.2.1 Croton Expressway 1.1.3 Peekskill to Poughkeepsie 1.1.4 Poughkeepsie to Albany 1.2 North Country 1.2.1 Albany to Saratoga Springs 1.2.2 Saratoga Springs to Lake George 1.2.3 Adirondack Park 1.2.4 Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh and Canada 2 History 2.1 Croton Expressway 2.2 Canceled Albany expressways 3 Major intersections 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

The New York segment of US 9 can be divided into the section south of Albany, which parallels the Hudson River closely; and the portion north of Albany, which takes in a long section of the eastern Adirondacks.

[edit] Hudson Valley

US 9 enters New York as part of an expressway, but quickly becomes a surface street and major urban, then suburban, transport artery. Outside of the expressway portions, it is mostly a two- or four-lane road save for a lengthy four-lane strip that leads into one of the expressways. It runs near the river more frequently in the southern ares, later leaving that to spur routes, but it is never very far inland.

[edit] New York City

The U.S. Route 1/9 concurrency ends at the first exit from Interstate 95 after the George Washington Bridge, when 9 heads north via 178th Street to Broadway. Signed frequently here in this northern section of Manhattan, a rarity for numbered highways on the island, Broadway passes through the Hudson Heights neighborhood and then into Inwood, the northernmost neighborhood on the island. Conspicuous Spanish-language advertising testifies to the heavy Latin immigrant population in the area. The ridge to the west, the highest natural ground in Manhattan, is home to Fort Tryon Park and The Cloisters, popular tourist destinations.

Near the island's northern tip, at the intersection with 215th Street, the elevated Broadway-Seventh Avenue subway line joins Broadway, covering the street completely. At the very tip of Manhattan, just past Columbia University's Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, Route 9 crosses the Harlem River Ship Canal via the Broadway Bridge. However, it is still in Manhattan, where a court ruled Marble Hill should remain after the canal was built. Below the highway, along the river, is the Metro-North Hudson Line, which US 9 will share a corridor with at times as far as Poughkeepsie. There are subway and train stations at this point, creating lots of foot traffic transferring between the two, and a popular local shopping center. Broadway is divided by two small curbs through here to create a high-speed middle section and a slower local for pickup and delivery.

At Riverdale Avenue, 9 enters the Bronx, still signed as Broadway. It draws alongside Interstate 87, here the Major Deegan Expressway, the first of many encounters between the two roads on their northward course. At 242nd Street, the subway ends and Broadway runs along the west side of Van Cortlandt Park. The Henry Hudson Parkway interchange a mile up this stretch adds NY 9A to 9, its first concurrent route in New York.

[edit] Westchester County

The northwestern corner of the park marks the city limit and 9 enters Yonkers, where it is now known as South Broadway. It trends ever eastward, closer to the Hudson River, remaining a busy urban commercial street. At downtown, it drops close to the river, becomes North Broadway and 9A leaves via Ashburton Avenue. 9 climbs to the nearby ridgetop runs parallel to the river and the railroad, a few blocks east of both as it passes St. John's Riverside Hospital. The neighborhoods become more residential and the road gently undulates along the ridgetop.

It remains Broadway as it leaves Yonkers for Hastings-on-Hudson, where it splits into separate north and south routes for 0.6 mile (1 km). The trees become taller and the houses, many separated from the road by stone fences, become larger . In the next village, Dobbs Ferry, it passes Mercy College, then turns left again at the center of town, headed for equally comfortable Ardsley-on-Hudson and Irvington.

North of here, at the Kraft Foods technical center, the Tappan Zee Bridge becomes visible, and after crossing under the Thruway and I-87 again, here concurrent with Interstate 287, where the four-lane NY 119 splits off to the east, it becomes the busy main street of Tarrytown. This downtown ends at the eastern terminus of NY 448, where 9 slopes off to the left, downhill, and four signs indicate that 9 turns left. The road then enters Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown), passing the visitors' center for Kykuit, the National Historic Landmark that was (and partially still is) the Rockefeller family's estate.

US 9 expands to four lanes at the trumpet intersection with NY 117, Broadway finally ends and 9 becomes Albany Post Road. Entering Ossining's downtown, US 9 becomes Highland Avenue and continues to rise and fall, widen and narrow, through the riverside community.

[edit] Croton Expressway

Just after Ossining, Route 9A returns and merges with US 9 for approximately 1,500 feet (457 m) as it crosses the mouth of the Croton River and becomes the Croton Expressway a 9.2-mile (14.8 km) freeway segment. 9A returns to two lanes, following the parent route's old course, at the first exit, Croton Point Avenue in Croton-on-Hudson, where NY 129 reaches its western end. Here the modern concrete ramps of Metro-North's Croton-Harmon station, also served by Amtrak, are prominent to the west as Haverstraw Bay becomes visible.

The expressway veers inland for much of its route, preferring to follow the railroad tracks (the new Cortlandt station is visible to the east at one point) than the river past the promontory at Buchanan. Past that point, it narrows as it joins an older section through Peekskill. North of Hudson Avenue, the highway begins to narrow, resulting in a lower 45 mph speed limit. Here 9A reaches its northern terminus, and NY 35 its western.

One mile (1.6 km) from the freeway's northern terminus, US 202 and US 6 join the freeway, creating the only concurrency of three U.S. routes in New York.^[3] The four-lane divided highway's northern terminus is at a stoplight at a three-way intersection with the Bear Mountain State Parkway. The parkway continues straight from this intersection while 6/9/202 turns left.

[edit] Peekskill to Poughkeepsie

550 feet (168 m) north of that junction, the routes enter a traffic circle. While 6 and 202 remain concurrent and exit the circle on its west side, continuing up the river, 9 exits the roundabout on the northeast side. It continues due north as, once again, two-lane Albany Post Road. Running inland and mostly free of development behind the Hudson Highlands, it enters Putnam County. NY 403 reaches its eastern terminus at the same intersection where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road. The gas station here has, when in service, long been a favorite stop for thru-hikers. The only other intersection of note in Putnam County is its main east-west state route, NY 301, which crosses 9 several miles further north, just a mile south of the Dutchess County line.

U.S. 9 passes the worn-down Dutchess Mall and the historic Van Wyck Homestead before meeting Interstate 84 in Fishkill. At the interstate exit, the road expands into a four-lane strip similar to the form it takes in Central New Jersey, complete with much commercial development on both sides. It will remain this way to Poughkeepsie. This stretch is an important, if often congested, transportation artery for the county.

Just north of I-84 9 clips off a corner of the village of Fishkill, where the intersection with NY 52 creates a heavily congested situation at rush hours since traffic going from southbound 9 to eastbound I-84 often uses it as a shortcut. The remaining miles to Wappingers Falls boast many intersections as well, but are not quite as heavy.

In Wappingers (as it is called locally), just after the northern terminus of NY 9D, 9 passes another distressed mall, South Hills and its healthier counterpart, the Poughkeepsie Galleria. A mile further north, NY 113 swings to the west at a cloverleaf interchange near the IBM plant, once the region's major employer. Entering the city of Poughkeepsie, at Sharon Drive, 9 returns to expressway status once again. Two miles (3.2 km) north of Sharon, the highway interchanges with the US 44/NY 55 concurrency in close proximity to the Mid-Hudson Bridge. This creates some unusual left exits, as traffic from 44/55 east wanting to go north on 9 is routed into a U-turn south of the highway, and likewise northbound drivers on 9 must get turned around to go west over the river. The limited-access highway comes to an end at the intersection with NY 9G near Marist College.

[edit] Poughkeepsie to Albany

North of Poughkeepsie 9 is at first a busy four-lane undivided route, with occasional turn lanes as it approaches Hyde Park, passing the Culinary Institute of America and then the home and presidential library of native Franklin D. Roosevelt. It narrows to two lanes at the built-up area that marks the center of town, then opens up a turn lane for traffic entering the third of the town's tourist attractions, Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.

Past Hyde Park, the road narrows to two lanes again as traffic becomes more local. The area recalls Westchester County with many wooded tracts and stone walls at roadside. Through here it has been running fairly close to the river, but after Staatsburg the highway begins to veer inland again, already at least two miles west of the river when it reaches Rhinebeck, the next town along the route, where NY 308 heads off to the east.

At Weys Corners, the X-shaped intersection north of Rhinebeck, northbound traffic to the river and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge via NY 199 typically bears left onto NY 9G. Southbound traffic, in turn, takes 199 itself to the river when the two meet in Red Hook three miles (5 km) further ahead. North of Red Hook, the land around the road begins to open up into farms and fields, offering frequent views of the Catskill Escarpment across the river. This terrain continues into Columbia County, which 9 enters five miles (8 km) beyond Red Hook.

The road remains two lanes, with mostly local traffic and no stop signs or traffic lights, not even at the oblique four-way intersection in Belle Pond, 10 miles (16 km) into the county. Here, NY 23 joins 9 as it heads west, which in turn joins NY 9H on the northern roadway while NY 82 departs to the southeast. 1.5 miles (3 km) west, in Greenport, 9 turns northward again toward Hudson, the county seat, passing the Holcim cement plant whose expansion was recently blocked by community activists.

In the center of Hudson, US 9 intersects NY 23B and the northern terminus of NY 9G. 23B runs concurrent with 9 for a short distance eastward before splitting at Fairview Avenue, which US 9 follows out of Hudson. A commercial strip with turn lane gives way after 1.75 miles to the lightly-traveled rural two-lane 9 was south of Hudson. Near Stockport, Route 9 meets the southern terminus of NY 9J. Farther north, near Kinderhook, home of another U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, the road passes under NY 9H at a grade-separated interchange before intersecting the northern terminus of 9H a short distance later at a small circle outside Valatie.

The highway widens to four lanes with a turn lane shortly after crossing into Renesslaer County, and will remain so for most of the rest of the way to Albany, despite limited development and low traffic in some areas. Within a miles of the county line it passes under the New York State Thruway Berkshire Connector and interchanges with the lone section of Interstate 90 in New York not part of the Thruway system, at exit 12 southeast of Castleton-on-Hudson. Four miles (6.4 km) north of I-90 and four miles northwest of Nassau, Route 9 veers left at US 20 and the two routes merge, progressing northwest toward Albany. Less than half a mile (1 km) from the eastern terminus of the overlap, 9 and 20 intersect NY 150 before interchanging with I-90 at exit 11.

As the roadway heads westward, it meets the western (southern for state purposes) terminus of US 4 across from a Hannaford supermarket along the busy commercial strip in East Greenbush. Shortly afterwards the first sign of the state capital, the Erastus Corning Tower, starts becoming visible. At a bluff east of the river, the entire Albany skyline comes into view as the road descends, passing the northern terminus of NY 9J south of Rensselaer. The concurrency then crosses the Hudson River via the Dunn Memorial Bridge into Albany as Corning Tower and the other buildings of Empire State Plaza loom ahead.

[edit] North Country

North of Albany US 9 starts to pull away from the Hudson corridor, eventually picking up I-87, now the Adirondack Northway.

Major cities
New York City Yonkers Peekskill Poughkeepsie Albany Saratoga Springs Glens Falls Plattsburgh

[edit] Albany to Saratoga Springs

After the bridge 9 runs under Interstate 787 for several blocks, then turns west on Clinton Avenue. It shortly encounters two of the Hudson corridor roads that have come up the west side of the river, NY 32 (North Pearl Street), which continues north, and US 9W (Lark Street), which ends at the junction. At Henry Johnson Boulevard, it turns north and widens to cross I-90 again via a flyover originally built for the canceled Mid-Crosstown Arterial, exiting the city of Albany in the process.

Now in the northern suburb of Colonie, 9 returns to two lanes and follows Loudon Road through well-to-do residential neighborhoods past Albany Memorial Hospital and Wolferts Roost Country Club. The short NY 377 forks off to the north while Route 9 trends slightly westward. A five-way intersection marks Loudonville. Siena College is on the east side a mile past the junction, with the headquarters of New York State Police Troop G opposite.

Continuing northward into Latham, the highway adds a middle turn lane. NY 155 intersects as the Northway draws near to the west. Beyond, the road expands to four lanes and commercial property resumes. At Latham Circle Mall, NY 2 intersects at the traffic circle of the same name, which 9 crosses beneath. It is used also to give access to westbound NY 7. A mile further north, the expressway portion of Route 7 crosses over for eastbound traffic, and then NY 9R goes off to the east, to return two miles (3 km) further north. At the junction, 9 starts to trend eastward again, away from the Northway, and finally crosses the Mohawk River into Saratoga County via the Crescent Bridge at the northernmost point of Albany County.

A new name, Halfmoon Parkway, comes with the change of county, after the town the road runs through. The eastward bent reverses itself as another state route, NY 236 forks off to the north. By the time 9 reaches the NY 146 junction in Clifton Park, the Northway is right alongside again. The roads continue running parallel courses past Round Lake as NY 67 joins 9 into Malta, leaving 1.6 miles (3 km) later at the center of town for its own exit along the Northway. Another 1.5 miles to the north, another lettered subroute of US 9, NY 9P, leaves east for Saratoga Lake.

Route 9 itself has its first exit with the Northway, its first junction with I-87 since Tarrytown in fact, two miles north of 9P. This full cloverleaf is the main exit for Saratoga Springs. The popular town's picturesque main street is four miles ahead, past Saratoga Spa State Park. Here 9, as South Broadway, begins a concurrency with NY 50 and, later, briefly, with NY 29. 9P completes its loop here, and another lettered route, NY 9N, the longest letter-suffixed route in the state, begins. Tacking eastward out of town, 9 and 50 follow Van Dam Street until 9 returns to a northerly course on Marion Avenue, which becomes Maple Avenue at the city limit.

[edit] Saratoga Springs to Lake George

Once past the sleeve of development around the highway north of the city, 9 is out of the Albany metropolitan area as it gets less developed through Wilton and Moreau. The Palmerstown Range begins to rise on one side, anticipating the mountainous country to come. From the hamlet of Kings Station onward, what is now signed as Saratoga Road follows a straight northeast course for ten miles (16 km) through more wooded countryside to the entrance to Moreau Lake State Park. A mile further on, 9 again intersects the Northway at Exit 17.

Another mile and a half brings it to the western end of NY 197 (Reynolds Road). US 9 continues straight ahead for the next three miles into the village of South Glens Falls, where NY 32 (Gansevoort Road), comes in at an oblique angle from the south and merges with 9 to cross the Hudson via the Cooper's Cave Bridge for the last time, leave Saratoga County and enter the Warren County city of Glens Falls.

The two routes follow Glen Street to a five-way intersection in the center of town, where 32 leaves to the right via Warren Street and NY 9L takes Ridge Street due north. 9 continues via Glen to the northwest, becoming Upper Glen Street at the city limit. NY 254 (Aviation Road) comes in from its nearby western terminus at the Northway. The highway remains heavily developed for the next three miles to a junction with another route beginning at I-87, NY 149. It joins with US 9 briefly before leaving to the east north of the Adirondack-Lake George Outlet Mall. Many vehicles make that turn, as 149 is the best route from the Northway into southern Vermont, 30 miles (48 km) to the east.

9 continues to parallel the interstate. At the Queensbury-Lake George town line, a massive wooden shingle lets drivers know they have crossed the Blue Line into the Adirondack Park. The route straightens out for the next 2.5 miles (3.5 km) into the village of Lake George, a popular tourist destination.

It takes the name Canada Street, and NY 9N comes in from the west to run concurrently with. Shortly thereafter, NY 9L loops back to the parent route, after having followed the east shore of the lake that gives the village its name. At the northern end of the village of Lake George, 9N splits via Lake Shore Drive to follow the western shore, and 9 itself takes a northwesterly turn to remain parallel with the Northway.

[edit] Adirondack Park

The nature of the Adirondack Park becomes apparent once Lake George is past. The next 90 miles (154 km) of Route 9 run through the eastern section of the largest protected area east of the Mississippi, 6.1 million acres (2,400 km²) with vast tracts of Forest Preserve kept "forever wild" per the state constitution. Accordingly, 9 remains a two-lane rural road, often very close to the Northway, throughout the park. Development, traffic and population are minimal, the surrounding land is heavily wooded and the two roads cover very long, lonely distances between very small, solitary towns. The surrounding scenery of mountains and lakes, though, is often spectacular.

After Lake George, there is another exit with the Northway, to ease access to the village by southbound traffic. US 9 remains very close to the Northway on its east side, resulting in another exit 4 miles (6.4 km) north. This serves Warrensburg, where NY 418 reaches its eastern terminus. The highway begins to move further away from the interstate and three miles further, NY 28 concludes its long bow-shaped route at a junction with 9.

Nearly nine miles (15.4 km) north, at Chestertown, Route 9 meets and joins NY 8, which carries it due west almost four miles to Loon Lake. After crossing over a southwestern bay of the lake, 9 turns right and is once again on its own, trending northeast alongside the lake's western shore to eventually reach the Northway again in four miles. This exit serves only northbound traffic. A mile later, there is access for the other direction.

The road begins to run along the west shore of Schroon Lake, in the process crossing into Essex County. Shortly after the county line, an access road leads to I-87 again. It is 7 miles (11 km) from here, past the hamlet of Schroon Lake at the water's northern tip, that 9 intersects NY 74, like 254 and 149 fresh off its western terminus at the Northway. Signs at this junction use Ticonderoga, 17 miles (27 km) to the east, as a control city, an indication of how sparsely populated the park is.

9 remains close to the interstate for the next 16 miles (25 km) into the town of North Hudson, where Boreas Road provides access to the southern portion of the wilderness areas in the Adirondack High Peaks region. The highway again crosses the interstate to connect I-87 to the western terminus of NY 73, the well-traveled scenic route to Keene Valley and Lake Placid. At this ornate junction, 9 is at 1,155 feet (340 m) above sea level, the highest elevation it reaches along its entire length.

The right turn takes it again to the northeast past Rocky Peak Ridge, easternmost of the High Peaks, and to the hamlet of New Russia. This ten-mile (16 km) stretch brings the highway to Elizabethtown, the unincorporated county seat and the first settlement 9 has passed through since Warrensburg. NY 9N comes through town from the west; it and US 9 briefly overlap.

While the land remains mostly forested as the road continues its northeast course from Elizabethtown, it begins to descend somewhat as the valley of Lake Champlain draws near. 9 eventually draws close to the Northway again at Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, the Adirondacks' most popular climbing spot. In Chesterfield, 18 miles (26 km) without a major highway junction are ended when NY 22 joins 9 after its exit, the first pairing of two highways that begin their journey upstate in New York City.

The two routes enter Keeseville, where in mid-village they cross the Au Sable River and enter Clinton County. NY 9N reappears here, reaching its northern terminus. North of the village, the two routes split again and exchange the roles they had been playing for their entire northward journey. 9 takes the eastward fork to the lake, running close to the state's edge; while 22 will run inland from here to the border.

After Keeseville, 9 follows AuSable Chasm down to the lake shore. It crosses the Ausable and briefly re-enters Essex County long enough for the short NY 373 to provide access to the Fort Kent-Burlington Ferry. A third and final crossing takes it out of the Adirondack Park.

[edit] Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh and Canada

After 9 passes Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area and NY 442 comes in from the east at the small hamlet of Peru, 9 heads down to the shore of the lake itself, which it will stay close to all the way into Plattsburgh as Lakes to Locks Passage. On clear days it is possible to see Burlington across the water. Ahead lies Valcour Island. In the narrow, rocky strait between it and the shore, Benedict Arnold's hastily built fleet held off the British on October 11, 1776 in the Battle of Valcour Island in what is considered the first battle of U.S. naval history. More recent military history is apparent shortly thereafter when 9 passes now-closed Plattsburgh Air Force Base, a pillar of the regional economy Plattsburgh has struggled to replace.

When it actually enters Plattsburgh, it becomes first U.S. Avenue, then Peru Street when it passes the Old Catholic Cemetery. The Saranac River draws alongside twice before 9 takes a left turn at Bridge Street and crosses it. Just past the bridge, the highway turns left again onto City Hall Place at the center of town. Route 9 passes in front of the City Hall designed by John Russell Pope, also the builder of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington. Two more quick lefts follow past the large obelisk of Riverside Park, onto Miller and Cornelia streets, then 9 turns right at the eastern terminus of the lengthy NY 3 to follow Margaret Street north and out of the city.

It bends northeast to return to the lake shore shortly after the city limit, following alongside Cumberland Bay. At the Dead Creek crossing, 9 widens to four lanes for the first time since the Albany area to handle the heavy traffic at the junction with NY 314, another ferry connector, just southeast of the Northway. Two miles north of the junction, after North Country Shopping Center, the highway returns to two lanes and the name Lakes to Locks Passage as it overlooks Woodruff Pond and Treadwell Bay. I-87 is visible a thousand feet (305 m) to the east across the many open fields as the two roads parallel each others turns closely.

Another short route, NY 456, comes in from the west and terminates at 9 shortly after the right turn for Point Au Roche State Park. Continuing northward, the road deviates to the east slightly in the Town of Chazy, but returns to its previous track by the interstate at the Little Chazy River bridge. Shortly afterwards, NY 191 (Miner Farm Road) comes in from the west.

Route 9 runs straight, no longer taking another name, and due north three miles to the next major intersection, NY 9B (Lavalley Road), its last subroute. 9B does not terminate but instead runs to the lakeshore and eventually north to Rouses Point. A bend slightly to the west, closer to the Northway, brings the next three-mile stretch to 9's last major intersection, US 11, just south of Champlain.

US 9 winds through the quiet border village as its Main Street, turning west-northwest near Champlain's northern boundary to make its last water crossing over the Chazy River. 9, still known as Main Street, heads northwest towards the Northway to follow it for the last half mile (1 km) passing a few customs brokerages towards its official end at the onramp to the last exit. Traffic to Canada must get on I-87 here.

The roadway continues as the East Service Road, New York State Reference Route 971B, for another half-mile. This was the former route of US 9 to the border prior to the construction of the Northway. It is devoid of any development save some long vacant and abandoned lots, finally ending in a cul-de-sac 600 feet (200 m) south of the border from which the Canadian customs station at the south end of Quebec Autoroute 15 is visible.

[edit] History

The general routing of US 9 used to be known as New York State Route 6, connecting New York City to Quebec via Rouses Point.^[4] In the original 1925 U.S. Highway plan, however, US 9 was designated along the west bank of the Hudson River from the New Jersey line to Albany (this was part of the 1920s alignment of NY 10). North of Albany, US 9 then followed old Route 6 to Canada. Route 6 east of the Hudson (up to Rensselaer) and a further extension on a previously unnumbered road to Glens Falls was designated as U.S. Route 109.^[5][6]

When US 9 was commissioned in New York, the US 109 desgination had been dropped and was signed instead as U.S. Route 9E, but only up to Waterford.^[7] North of Waterford remained unnumbered until the 1930 renumbering. The segment on the west bank of the Hudson from New Jersey to Waterford was redesignated as US 9W, with 9E and 9W meeting in Waterford. From there, unsuffixed US 9 began (still along old NY Route 6) and went up to the Canadian border via Rouses Point.^[7]

Between Albany and Round Lake, the route (then US 9W) had a slightly different alignment and ran closer to the river bank along current NY 32 to Mechanicville and current NY 67 to Round Lake. A shorter, more inland alternate route between Albany and Round Lake was designated as New York State Route 9C.^[7] Between Elizabethtown and Keeseville, old Route 6 used a circuitous route following modern NY 9N. US 9 was assigned on the newer, direct route, with the old Route 6 becoming another U.S. Route 9W.^[7]

In the 1930 renumbering, US 9E was decommissioned and became just US 9 (up to Rensselaer) and US 9W was truncated to Albany. US 9 was also realigned along NY 9C (which was decommissioned in 1930) with the old river bank route becoming part of NY 32. The northern US 9W was renumbered to NY 9N.^[7]

The southern terminus of US 9 (and US 9E) had originally been in Harlem, crossing into New Jersey on the old Edgewater Ferry. The southern end was shifted to the George Washington Bridge when it opened in 1934.^[8][9]

In the mid-1940s, the northern end was also realigned to enter Canada via Champlain instead of Rouses Point. The old route became a new alignment of New York State Route 9B.^[10] Sometime after the construction of the Adirondack Northway, the northern end was moved to the last interchange before the Canadian border.

[edit] Croton Expressway

Since the 1940s, an expressway along the US 9 corridor on the east bank of the Hudson River had been planned. Part of the route later became the New York State Thruway (up to Tarrytown). In 1956, there were plans to continue the expressway further north to Interstate 84 in Beacon and beyond. This was one of the proposed alignments for Interstate 87.^[11]

In early 1965, this unconstructed expressway was assigned the designation Interstate 487, allowing a commercial-vehicle-accessible means of travel on the east side of the Hudson River. By 1967, strong resident opposition caused the segment from Peekskill to Beacon to be cancelled. In 1971, the section from Tarrytown to Ossining had also been cancelled due to lack of public support.^[11] The only portion that was ever built was the section from Crotonville to Peekskill, and was later named the Croton Expressway. The Croton Expressway opened in 1967 with the US 9 designation.^[11]

[edit] Canceled Albany expressways

In Albany, US 9 was planned to be upgraded to an expressway. It was to run west from the Dunn Memorial Bridge along the South Mall Arterial (co-signed with US 20), then north along the northern half of the Mid-Crosstown Arterial. The southern half would carry US 9W. The Mid-Crosstown Arterial would have begun at the junction of Interstate 787 and the New York State Thruway, connect with the South Mall Arterial at an underground interchange at Washington Park, and continue north to a junction with Interstate 90. The only portion that was actually constructed was in the vicinity of the I-90 interchange (Exit 6).^[12]

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[13][14]	Road(s)	Notes
New York	New York City	0.00	New Jersey state line. I-95/ US 1/US 9 continue west across the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
		0.55	NY 9A/Henry Hudson Parkway	Exit 1A (I-95/US 1/US 9). Exit 14 (NY 9A/Henry Hudson Pkwy.).
		0.84	I-95/US 1	Exit 1A (I-95/US 1/US 9). Eastern terminus of I-95/US 1/9 overlap.
		3.06	Broadway Bridge over the Harlem River Ship Canal.
Manhattan-Bronx county line		3.16	Riverdale Avenue
Bronx	New York City	4.98	NY 9A/Henry Hudson Parkway	Exit 23 (NY 9A/Henry Hudson Pkwy.). Southern terminus of US 9/NY 9A overlap.
Bronx-Westchester county line		5.78
Westchester	Yonkers	7.85	NY 9A	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 9A overlap.
	Tarrytown	17.07	I-87/I-287/Thruway NY 119	Exit 9 (I-87/I-287/Thruway). Western terminus of NY 119.
	Sleepy Hollow	18.68	NY 448	Western terminus of NY 448.
		20.38	NY 117	Interchange. Western terminus of NY 117.
	Ossining	24.11	NY 133	Western terminus of NY 133.
		25.76	NY 9A	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 9A overlap.
	Croton-on-Hudson	25.95	Croton River
		26.41	NY 9A	Interchange. Northern terminus of US 9/NY 9A overlap.
		29.88	NY 9A	Interchange.
	Buchanan	32.91	NY 9A	Interchange. Northern terminus of NY 9A.
	Peekskill	34.36	US 6/US 202/NY 35	Southern terminus of US 6/9/202 overlap. Western terminus of NY 35.
		34.97	Bear Mountain Parkway	Western terminus of Bear Mountain Pkwy.
		35.09	US 6/US 202	Peekskill Circle Northern terminus of US 6/9/202 overlap.
Westchester-Putnam county line		37.28
Putnam	Garrison	38.96	NY 403	Southern terminus of NY 403.
	Cold Spring	45.44	NY 301
Putnam-Dutchess county line		49.60
Dutchess	Fishkill	52.16	I-84	Exit 13 (I-84).
		53.08	NY 52
	Wappingers Falls	58.90	NY 9D	Northern terminus of NY 9D.
	Town of Poughkeepsie	61.85	NY 113	Interchange.
	City of Poughkeepsie	65.19	US 44/NY 55	Interchange.
	Town of Poughkeepsie	66.56	NY 9G	Southern terminus of NY 9G. Formerly NY 9F.
	Rhinebeck	81.56	NY 308	Western terminus of NY 308.
		83.91	NY 9G
	Red Hook	86.86	NY 199
Dutchess-Columbia county line		91.69
Columbia	Livingston	101.59	NY 9H/NY 23 NY 82	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 23 overlap.
	Greenport	104.27	NY 23	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 23 overlap.
	Hudson	107.22	NY 9G/NY 23B	Western terminus of US 9/NY 23B overlap. Northern terminus of NY 9G.
		107.73	NY 23B	Eastern terminus of US 9/NY 23B overlap.
	Stockport	113.85	NY 9J	Southern terminus of NY 9J.
	Valatie	120.62	NY 9H
		122.41	NY 9H	Northern terminus of NY 9H.
Columbia-Renssalaer county line		125.81
Rensselaer	Schodack	127.00	I-90	Exit 12 (I-90).
		131.35	US 20	Eastern terminus of US 9/US 20 overlap.
		131.72	NY 150
		132.23	I-90	Exit 11 (I-90).
	East Greenbush	135.41	US 4	Southern terminus of US 4.
	Rensselaer	138.20	NY 9J	Northern terminus of NY 9J.
Rensselaer-Albany county line		139.46	Dunn Memorial Bridge over Hudson River.
Albany	Albany	139.52	US 20	Western terminus of US 9/US 20 overlap.
		139.84	I-787	Exits 3 and 4 (I-787).
		140.72	NY 32
		141.35	US 9W	Northern terminus of US 9W.
		142.08	I-90	Exit 6 (I-90).
	Colonie	142.83	NY 377	Interchange. Southern terminus of NY 377.
		144.88	NY 378	Western terminus of NY 378.
		147.19	NY 155
		147.98	NY 2	Latham Circle; 9 passes underneath
		148.70	NY 7 east
		149.01	I-87/NY 7 west NY 9R	Exit 7 (I-87/NY 7). Southern terminus of NY 9R.
		150.57	NY 9R	Northern terminus of NY 9R.
Albany-Saratoga county line		153.41	Crescent Bridge over the Mohawk River.
Saratoga	Halfmoon	154.47	NY 236	Southern terminus of NY 236.
		156.91	NY 146
	Round Lake	163.25	NY 67	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 67 overlap.
	Malta	164.83	NY 67	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 67 overlap.
		166.31	NY 9P	Southern terminus of NY 9P.
		168.43	I-87	Exit 13 (I-87).
	Saratoga Springs	172.00	NY 50	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 50 overlap.
		172.30	NY 9P	Northern terminus of NY 9P.
		172.33	NY 29	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 29 overlap. US 9/NY 50 overlap continues.
		172.55	NY 9N NY 29	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 29 overlap. US 9/NY 50 overlap continues. Southern terminus of NY 9N.
		173.53	NY 50	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 50 overlap.
	Moreau	184.58	I-87	Exit 17 (I-87).
		186.02	NY 197	Western terminus of NY 197.
	South Glens Falls	189.26	NY 32	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 32 overlap.
Saratoga-Warren county line		190.46	Cooper's Cave Bridge over the Hudson River.
Warren	Glens Falls	190.76	NY 9L NY 32	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 32 overlap. Southern terminus of NY 9L.
	Queensbury	192.85	NY 254
		195.90	I-87 NY 149	Exit 20 (I-87). Southern terminus of US 9/NY 149 overlap.
		196.40	NY 149	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 149 overlap.
	Lake George	199.01	NY 9N	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 9N overlap.
		199.34	NY 9L	Northern terminus of NY 9L.
		200.89	NY 9N	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 9N overlap.
		201.12	I-87	Exit 22 (I-87).
	Hamlet of Warrensburg	205.42	I-87	Exit 23 (I-87).
		206.20	NY 418	Eastern terminus of NY 418.
	Town of Warrensburg	209.62	NY 28	Northern terminus of NY 28.
	Chester	218.24	NY 8	Eastern terminus of US 9/NY 8 overlap.
		222.05	Loon Lake
		222.06	NY 8	Western terminus of US 9/NY 8 overlap.
		226.79	I-87	Southern half of exit 26 (I-87).
		227.62	I-87	Northern half of exit 26 (I-87).
Essex	Schroon	231.49	I-87	Exit 27 (I-87).
		238.43	NY 74	To I-87 exit 28.
	North Hudson	254.33	I-87	Exit 30 (I-87).
		256.47	NY 73	Eastern terminus of NY 73.
	Elizabethtown	266.43	NY 9N	Western terminus of US 9/NY 9N overlap.
		266.89	NY 9N	Eastern terminus of US 9/NY 9N overlap.
	Chesterfield	284.22	NY 22	Southern terminus of US 9/NY 22 overlap.
Essex-Clinton county line		288.72	Au Sable River.
Clinton	Keeseville	288.79	NY 9N/NY 22	Northern terminus of US 9/NY 22 overlap. Northern terminus of NY 9N.
Clinton-Essex county line		290.23	Au Sable River.
Essex	Chesterfield	290.41	NY 373	Western terminus of NY 373.
Clinton	Peru	294.16	NY 442	Eastern terminus of NY 442.
	City of Plattsburgh	302.91	Saranac River
		303.10	NY 3	Eastern terminus of NY 3.
	Town of Plattsburgh	305.16	NY 314
	Beekmantown	309.37	NY 456	Eastern terminus of NY 456.
	Chazy	317.10	Little Chazy River
		317.40	NY 191	Eastern terminus of NY 191.
	Town of Champlain	320.08	NY 9B	Western terminus of NY 9B.
	Village of Champlain	323.28	US 11
		324.17	Chazy River
	Town of Champlain	325.01	I-87	Exit 43 (I-87). Northern terminus of US 9. Roadway continues north for 0.54 miles as NY 971B.[15]

Legend
Crossing, no access	Concurrency termini	Decommissioned	Unconstructed	Closed

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Various images of U.S. Route 9 from Steve Alpert

U.S. Route 9
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