New York State Route 12

Broome and Chenango counties NY 12 begins at US 11, which connects it to I-81, north of Binghamton in the Broome County town of Chenango. The route heads north through the Chenango River valley, connecting to I-88 (via NY 12A), and passing west of Chenango Valley State Park before traversing the Tioughnioga River near the community of Chenango Forks. On the northern bank of the river, NY 12 intersects and briefly overlaps NY 79 before continuing northward through the valley and into Chenango County. Within Chenango County, NY 12 acts as the primary connector between the numerous communities located along the Chenango. In Greene, NY 12 intersects NY 206 and overlaps NY 41 for six blocks through the village before continuing northeast for to Oxford, where it intersects the eastern terminus of NY 220. After another , NY 12 enters the city of Norwich, becomes South Broad Street, and then intersects the western terminus of NY 990L (East Main Street). The South Broad moniker remains with the route northward through the city until the downtown district, where NY 12 turns into North Broad Street at a junction with NY 23. NY 12 loses the street name soon afterward as it leaves the city and intersects the western terminus of NY 320 north of Norwich and south of Norwich Lt. Warren Eaton Airport. NY 12 is known as Van Allen Road, crossing with Jefferson county roads in Rutland. At the intersection with CR 67, NY 12 turns to the north and enters Watertown as Gifford Street. NY 12 intersects with NY 126 just northeast of Thompson Park and Watertown Golf Club and turns to the northwest. As NY 12 continues through southern parts of Watertown, NY 3 intersects and becomes concurrent. NY 3 and NY 12 enter Watertown Public Square and split into divided highways. Here, NY 283 starts to the northeast. The eastern terminus of NY 12F is accessed via NY 12 southbound. NY 3 and NY 12 split, just northwest of the Public Square. NY 3 splits to the west, NY 12 heads to the northwest, and quickly becomes concurrent with US 11. The two roads cross a river and split in different directions. NY 12 heads to the northeast, intersecting with a suffixed route, NY 12E, and passes North Watertown Cemetery before connecting to I-81 at exit 47. NY 12 leaves Watertown afterwards and heads northeast through rural northwestern Jefferson County, along the way intersecting the western terminus of NY 342. North of Perch Lake in the southeastern corner of the town of Clayton, NY 12 intersects NY 180. From here, NY 12 continues approximately north and reaches the village of Clayton on the St. Lawrence River. On the south side of the village NY 12 intersects NY 12E and James Street (unsigned NY 970L), a loop through the village of Clayton. From here NY 12 turns east, intersects Webb Street (other end of unsigned 970L), then continues following State Street out of Clayton. St. Lawrence River NY 12 continues northeast along the south bank of the St. Lawrence, intersecting Mason Point Road (a local road leading to a Thousand Islands-bound ferry) and NY 180, and passing south of Grass Point State Park prior to encountering I-81, at exit 50, southwest of the village of Alexandria Bay. Farther northeast, NY 12 passes by Keewaydin State Park before intersecting the northern terminus of NY 26 and Church Street (unsigned NY 971K) in the southwestern portion of the village. The latter was a former northern extension of NY 26. Outside of Alexandria Bay, NY 12 temporarily turns east and leaves the riverbank to avoid Goose Bay, a small body of water partially separated from the St. Lawrence by two protruding points of land. The route then curves back toward the water and follows the eastern length of the bay, serving the seaside hamlet of Goose Bay near the bay's midpoint. North of Goose Bay, NY 12 intersects Kring Point Road, an access road leading to Kring Point State Park, and crosses into St. Lawrence County. NY 12 continues along the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River as it proceeds through the rural western portion of the county. In the town of Hammond, past the county line, NY 12 intersects CR 6, a roadway leading east to the village of Hammond and Black Lake. Farther north in Morristown, NY 12 travels through Jacques Cartier State Park before terminating at an interchange with NY 37 just south of the Morristown village limits. ==History==

Origins A section of the highway north of Utica was created as the Utica Turnpike. The company that built the turnpike was chartered in 1805 to build a road from the town of Deerfield to the town of Steuben. The road was opened in part in 1811, and was fully open in 1815. The road was sold off in 1848. Designation In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 8, an unsigned legislative route extending from Binghamton to Kirkland (west of Utica) via Greene, Norwich, Sherburne, Bouckville, and Oriskany Falls. Also assigned at this time was Route 25, which passed through Barneveld, Remsen and Forestport on its way from Whitesboro to Albany, and Route 27, which began at Route 25 in Forestport and went northwest to Alexandria Bay by way of Boonville, Potters Corners, Lowville, Carthage, Watertown, and Clayton. Route 25 originally went directly from Barneveld to Remsen; however, it was realigned by 1920 to serve the village of Prospect to the east. At Forestport, NY 12 left Route 25 to follow legislative Route 27 to Lowville. In Lowville, NY 12 split from Route 27 and proceeded northwest to Watertown via Copenhagen, bypassing the slightly more circuitous route that Route 27 took via Carthage on modern NY 26, NY 126, and NY 3. NY 12 rejoined legislative Route 27 in Watertown and followed it to Clayton, where NY 12 ended at NY 3, In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 3 was rerouted onto its current alignment east of Watertown while the former routing of NY 3 from Clayton to Alexandria Bay became an extension of NY 12. Also created as part of the renumbering was NY 12D, an alternate route of NY 12 between Potters Corners and Lowville via Lyons Falls. By the following year, NY 12D was rerouted south of Lyons Falls to follow a routing similar to modern NY 12 to Boonville. The alignments of NY 12 and NY 12D between the two villages were swapped , placing NY 12D on the direct highway between the two and NY 12 on the slightly more circuitous route via Lyons Falls. NY 12 originally extended southward into downtown Binghamton by way of an overlap with US 11. The overlap was eliminated at some point between 1947 and 1970. On its north end, NY 12 was extended northeast over a new roadway along the St. Lawrence River to NY 37 in Morristown in the mid-1960s. In April 2014, work began on a $68.3 million project to replace the viaduct over Columbia Street, Lafayette Streets, and Oriskany Boulevard (NY 5A and NY 5S) in Utica. The nearly one mile stretch had signalized at-grade intersections that were causing safety concerns and some fatalities. In addition to the replacement of the viaduct, the alignment of the arterial was straightened, a new single point urban interchange was built at Court Street, and a pedestrian bridge was built across the roadway. The pedestrian bridge was opened by December 2014, and the remainder of the project was completed by October 2017. Bypasses NY 12 has been realigned onto divided highways and limited-access highways over the years, particularly in Oneida County, to bypass communities along its routing. The first bypass that was constructed in Oneida County was around Remsen in the early 1950s. NY 12 was realigned onto the bypass, which passed to the west of the village, by 1954. Construction began by 1956 on a southward extension of the bypass that would take NY 12 around the eastern edge of Barneveld. It opened to traffic by 1958. Farther south, in Utica, a new limited-access highway was built through the downtown portion of the city in the early 1960s. At the time, it began at French Road and ended at Trenton Road. It became a realignment of NY 12 by 1964. An extension of the road southwest to Genesee Street in New Hartford was completed by 1968, at which time NY 12 was realigned to follow New Paris Road into the city. The former routing of NY 12 along Trenton Road from the Utica city line to Powell Road is now CR 91. The route has also been realigned in areas to bypass smaller communities along the highway. One such location is in the vicinity of the village of Greene, where NY 12 initially followed Chenango Street through the village. The current bypass around the western edge of the village was built in the late 1970s and completed by 1981. ==Major intersections==

NY 12 has had seven suffixed routes bearing six different designations. Two have since been removed and at least partially renumbered. All of the routes were assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York unless otherwise noted. • The NY 12A designation has been used for two distinct highways: • The first NY 12A was an alternate route of NY 12 between Sherburne and Utica. It was assigned in 1928 and renumbered to NY 12B in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. • The current NY 12A () is an east–west spur connecting NY 12 to I-88 and NY 7 on the banks of the Chenango River in Chenango Bridge, Broome County. The entire route is known as Chenango Bridge Road and is one of only six signed New York state highways less than a mile in length. • NY 12B () is an alternate route of NY 12 between Sherburne and Utica. • NY 12C is a former alternate route of NY 12 between Utica and Barneveld. The route was eliminated in 1970, at which time the lone portion of NY 12C that did not overlap another state route was redesignated as NY 291. • NY 12D () is an alternate route of NY 12 between Boonville and Lyons Falls. • NY 12E () is an alternate route of NY 12 between Watertown and Clayton. While NY 12 follows a direct path between the two locations, NY 12E veers to the west to serve communities along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. • NY 12F () is a spur connecting NY 12 in downtown Watertown to NY 180 near the Watertown International Airport in Dexter. ==See also==