The New York State Thruway system is a collection of six individual components across the state of
New York that connect the state to four neighboring states (
Connecticut,
Massachusetts,
New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania) as well as the Canadian province of
Ontario. Together, the highways extend for , The longest of the six components is the mainline. Of the 570 miles in the Thruway system, (98.4%) carries at least one
Interstate Highway designation. I-90, which comprises the bulk of the mainline and the Berkshire Connector, runs for along the Thruway: as part of the Berkshire Connector and on the mainline. I-87 comprises the remaining of the mainline, including an
concurrency with
I-287 north of New York City. I-287 covers another (including the shared with I-87), while
I-190 spans and
I-95 covers . These markers differ from the white-on-green reference markers used by NYSDOT on state-maintained highways, which are high and wide and display a limited amount of mileage information on their third row.
Mainline South of Albany The mainline of the Thruway begins (in terms of
exit numbers and mileposts) as a continuation of the
Major Deegan Expressway, carrying
I-87 northward into
Westchester County from
New York City at the border between
Yonkers and
the Bronx. I-87 leaves the Thruway mainline here, and the Thruway briefly becomes the unsigned reference route
NY 915H, before I-90 merges into it, following the Thruway northwestward toward
Schenectady.
Albany to Syracuse ) looking east from Nordkop Mountain in
Suffern South of Schenectady, but still in
Albany County, the Thruway and I-90 meet
I-890, a loop route of I-90 that directly serves the downtown district of Schenectady, at exit 25. The Thruway, meanwhile, bypasses the city to the south and west, intersecting
I-88 at exit 25A in
Rotterdam before reuniting with I-890 at exit 26 west of
Scotia. Travel between I-88 (Exit 25A) and exits 24, 25, and 26 in either direction is toll-free. From exit 26 west to
Utica, the mainline of the Thruway parallels the
Erie Canal and the
Mohawk River, crossing over the water-bodies at
Mohawk. In between Schenectady and Utica, I-90 and the Thruway serve several riverside communities, including the cities of
Amsterdam (exit 27 via
NY 30) and
Little Falls (exit 29A,
NY 169) and the villages of
Fonda (exit 28,
NY 30A),
Canajoharie (exit 29,
NY 5S and
NY 10), and Herkimer (exit 30,
NY 28). Like Schenectady before it, the Thruway bypasses downtown Utica, following an alignment north of the city while
I-790 serves it directly. I-790 breaks from the Thruway at exit 31 and runs along two carriageways flanking the mainline on both sides for before turning southward onto the North-South Arterial. The adjacent highways become
NY 49, which parallels the Thruway for another northwestward. At the end of this stretch, the Thruway turns slightly southwestward, crossing over the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal while NY 49 continues northwestward along the northern bank of the water-bodies toward
Rome. On the other side of the river, the Thruway curves back to the west, proceeding to exit 32 in
Westmoreland. Not far to the west, the Thruway has a junction with
NY 365 at exit 33 in
Verona. Here, the Thruway connects to the cities of Rome and
Oneida and serves the
Turning Stone Resort & Casino via NY 365. The highway continues onward through a sparsely populated area between Verona and Syracuse, passing roughly south of
Oneida Lake as it connects to the village of
Canastota by way of
NY 13 at exit 34. As the highway approaches exit 34A (
I-481) outside of
Syracuse, the surroundings become more developed. The level of development rises sharply west of I-481 as the Thruway enters
Salina, a northern suburb of Syracuse. Within Salina, I-90 and the Thruway intersect
I-81, which connects the Thruway to both
downtown Syracuse and
Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
Syracuse to Buffalo West of Salina, the Thruway passes north of
Liverpool and
Onondaga Lake before intersecting
I-690 and its northern continuation,
NY 690, at exit 39 in
Van Buren. At this point, the amount of development along the Thruway sharply declines as it heads generally westward through a
marshy area of
Onondaga County. I-90 and the Thruway reconnect to the Erie Canal (here part of the
Seneca River) at the western county line. Now in
Cayuga County, the highway serves
Weedsport via exit 40 and
NY 34, exit 41 serving
Del Lago Resort and Casino in
Tyre, New York and passes north of
Port Byron prior to entering
Seneca County and the
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Here, the canal leaves the Thruway for good, turning northwestward to follow the
NY 31 corridor to
Rochester and beyond. The portion of the Thruway between
Montezuma and the Rochester area is one of mostly rural nature, with the highway passing through remote, open fields, and for the most part avoiding highly populated areas. Along this stretch, it connects to two cities, both located well to the south of the Thruway:
Geneva by way of exit 42 for
NY 14 and
Canandaigua by way of exit 43 via
NY 21. The next exit along the highway, exit 44 for
NY 332, also serves Canandaigua; the junction is the primary exit for Canandaigua-bound travelers from the Rochester area. Here, the Thruway temporarily widens from four to six lanes as it continues generally westward to meet
I-490 at exit 45 near
Victor. As in the vicinity of Schenectady and Utica, an auxiliary route of I-90here I-490directly serves a city (Rochester) while the Thruway bypasses it. It heads northwestward through the city's southern, mostly rural suburbs to
Henrietta, where it meets
I-390 at exit 46. Henrietta is as close as the Thruway gets to downtown as it proceeds west to
Le Roy, where I-490 reconnects to I-90 at exit 47. I-90 continues onward into
Genesee County, intersecting with
NY 98 at exit 48 north of
Batavia and
NY 77 at exit 48A in
Pembroke. The latter exit provides access to
Six Flags Darien Lake, a large amusement park located in the town of
Darien. I-90 and the Thruway continue into
Erie County and the
Buffalo area. It meets
NY 78 at exit 49 near
Depew before passing to the north of
Buffalo Niagara International Airport and reaching the
Williamsville toll gantry, which marks the northwestern end of the major closed toll system.
West of Buffalo Just west of the toll gantry, I-90 and the Thruway—now toll-free—connect to
I-290 via exit 50, a semi-directional T interchange. At this point, the Thruway turns southward, passing through the immediate eastern suburbs of Buffalo. As it heads south, it meets the
Kensington Expressway (
NY 33) at exit 51 and Walden Avenue at exit 52, both
cloverleaf interchanges. At exit 52, it passes to the west of the
Walden Galleria, a shopping mall situated at the nearby junction of Walden Avenue and
NY 277. Two exits later in southern
Cheektowaga, I-90 meets
I-190, a spur route leading to downtown Buffalo and
Niagara Falls, at exit 53. South of the city, the Thruway meets the
Aurora Expressway (
NY 400) and the
Southern Expressway (
US 219) at exits 54 and 55, respectively, in
West Seneca. Just southwest of exit 55, I-90 and the Thruway pass through the
Lackawanna toll gantry, which serves as the northeast end of the minor closed toll system. Once again a toll road, the Thruway heads southwestward, roughly paralleling the shoreline of
Lake Erie to
Blasdell, where it connects to
NY 179 (the Milestrip Expressway). Farther southwestward, the Thruway is joined by
US 20, which follows a parallel routing to that of the Thruway to the
Pennsylvania state line. As the route passes from Erie County to
Chautauqua County, the last on its routing, it cuts through the northwestern portion of the
Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, situated on
Cattaraugus Creek. The Thruway continues alongside US 20 past
Dunkirk and
Westfield to the
Ripley toll gantry, the southwestern end of the minor closed toll system just northeast of exit 61 for Shortman Road. Travelers heading eastbound from
Pennsylvania can access Shortman Road toll-free. The Thruway ends about after exit 61 at the Pennsylvania state line. I-90, however, continues
onward into Pennsylvania as a toll-free highway.
Berkshire Connector The Berkshire Connector is a east–west spur connecting the Thruway mainline in
Coeymans to the
Massachusetts Turnpike at the
Massachusetts state line in
Canaan. It proceeds eastward over the
Hudson River and into
Rensselaer County by way of the
Castleton Bridge. It navigates through the southern, rural portion of the county to exit B1 in
Schodack, where the connector meets I-90. The
unsigned NY 912M designation terminates here while I-90 joins the Berkshire Connector and follows the spur east into
Columbia County. The connector continues to the state line, where it becomes the tolled Garden State Parkway.
Other components The New York State Thruway system also consists of three other components: the
New England Thruway, the
Cross Westchester Expressway, and the
Niagara Thruway. The New England Thruway (NET) is a section of
Interstate 95 under the operation and maintenance of the New York State Thruway Authority. It begins at the
Pelham Parkway interchange (exit 8) in the
Co-op City section of the
Bronx and continues northeastward into
Westchester County to the
Connecticut state line, where it connects to the
Connecticut Turnpike. The Cross Westchester Expressway, part of I-287, begins at I-87 exit 8 in
Elmsford, where I-287 splits from the Thruway mainline, and travels east across
Westchester County to I-95, with connections to both the New England Thruway and the Connecticut Turnpike at exit 12 in
Rye. The Niagara Thruway comprises the first of
I-190 from I-90 in
Buffalo to
NY 384 in
Niagara Falls. ==History==