US 209 follows a straight, northeasterly course for almost its entire length within New York. This corridor, first used for long-distance transport by the
Old Mine Road in
colonial times and then the historic
Delaware and Hudson Canal in the early 19th century, keeps it in the scenic valley between the
Catskill Plateau and the
Shawangunk Ridge. Except for the
freeway section at the northern end—the remnant of a much more ambitious plan to make the entire roadway one—US 209 remains a two-lane rural road for much of its length in the state. The small communities along it are separated by great distances, and the road is a vital access link.
Pennsylvania Before the advent of the
U.S. Highway System, the alignment of US 209 in
Pennsylvania carried several designations. By 1920, the Gap Way was signed to run from Philadelphia to East Stroudsburg, where it met the modern alignment of U.S. 209, running along that road to the New York border. On May 31, 1911, as part of the
Sproul Road Bill, the highway was assigned several
Legislative Route numbers, each corresponding to a specific section of what would become US 209. The segment of the route from
Duncannon north to
Millersburg was part of Legislative Route 1. From Millersburg east to
Pottsville, the highway was referenced as LR 199. Between Pottsville and
Lehighton, the road carried LR 162. The section connecting Lehighton to
Stroudsburg was given LR 164. Lastly, the segment from Stroudsburg to
Milford was designated LR 167. The future US 6 / US 209 concurrency between Milford and the
state line carried LR 8. The Pennsylvania portion of US 209 dates back to the formation of the
U.S. Highway System in 1926. At the time, US 209 began at
US 11 (today
US 22 /
US 322) east of
Duncannon and ended at
US 6 in Milford. Northeast of Milford, US 6 continued alone to
Matamoras and across the
Delaware River into
New York. In the
Poconos, US 209 ran along the modern US 209 Business. US 209 was extended northward to
Kingston, New York, , creating an
overlap with US 6 from Milford to the state line. By 1972, PA 115 was truncated to Brodheadsville and the length of the north–south freeway near Stroudsburg was designated PA 33, overlapping US 209 for roughly two miles. The National Park Service began the rule of no trucks along the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on US 209 in August 1983. The bill was passed by President
Ronald Reagan on the 1st of the month. It was projected to begin in April 1983, but the bill was delayed 180 days. In 1995, commercial vehicles began running in the area again, as long as they pay fee at two toll booths, one in Bushkill and one just south of downtown Milford. Prices began in 1995 and charged from $3.00 for 2-axles to $18.00 for 5 or more axles. In 2011, after rains from
Hurricane Irene in August and
Tropical Storm Lee in September, the grounds under the highway were saturated and after a landslide occurred on October 21, the National Park Service closed US 209 between
PA 739 in Dingmans Ferry and the North Contact Station just south of the
Milford–Montague Toll Bridge. Due to the approach of winter, the National Park Service can only get engineering done with outside contractors. Delaware Township has asked the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to keep PA 739 near US 209 clear of snow, due to the importance of the intersection. US 209, however, was slated to be closed through the winter and likely into summer of 2012. The project was then slated to be finished in fall 2012, a delay from the original spring/summer repair. The project was completed on November 21, 2012 and US 209 was re-opened to traffic. With the construction, new guard rails were instituted and the road was stabilized and repaved. The reconstruction of the McDade Recreational Trail was slated for completion in spring 2013. There are plans to construct two
roundabouts along US 209 in Brodheadsville - one at Pleasant Valley Lane and the other at PA 115 - in order to alleviate traffic congestion. Construction on the roundabouts is projected to cost $11.5 million. In February 2021, PennDOT opened construction bids for the proposed roundabouts.
Marshalls Creek Bypass The junction where US 209 intersects with
PA 402 in the hamlet of
Marshalls Creek within
Middle Smithfield Township was plagued with traffic for several decades. In 1990, studies were launched to investigate construction of a new bypass of the hamlet. The new bypass was approved in October 2004 and was originally projected to cost $70 million (2004
USD). The bypass was designed to be in length and have an
asphalt surface. Nine new signalized intersections were proposed for the bypass construction: seven on US 209, one on PA 402, and one on River Road. The first of three phases of construction was completed in mid-2007 and cost $14.2 million. Phase two, which was projected to start in fall of 2007, was originally projected to cost $17 million for constructing a new 400-space
park and ride lot on US 209 and relocating Oak Grove Drive and Mount Nebo Roads, was completed in 2009 at only a cost of $6.3 million. The third stage of construction of the bypass was originally projected to be completed in late 2012, but opened on June 11, 2012 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. With the opening, US 209 was realigned onto the new bypass, US 209 Business was extended from Seven Bridges Road to the new US 209 interchange east of Marshalls Creek and old US 209 along Seven Bridges Road was renumbered to State Route 1019 (SR 1019). Upon opening, Seven Bridges Road was closed for two to three months for bridge replacement, while the junction with US 209 Business was reconstructed. That portion of the project was slated for completion in early 2013, with a final stage three cost of $18.2 million.
New York Before the designation of the New York highway system, what is now US 209 was part of the Gap Way, which ran from the Pennsylvania border at Port Jervis to Kingston. In 1927, the first official route log published by
AASHO included the NY 50 alignment as part of
US 6. A year later, AASHO modified the definition of US 6, placing the route along a new alignment farther south in the state. In turn, the Port Jervis–Kingston highway was redesignated US 6N. The designation remained in place until 1933, when it was removed. The former US 6N was then redesignated as NY 279. The portion of US 209 south of Kingston has remained virtually unchanged, with the exception of local realignments. Two such reroutings were in the vicinity of the
hamlets of
Spring Glen and
Napanoch, where US 209 was initially routed on Phillipsport Road and Main Street, respectively. US 209 was realigned to bypass Napanoch , by which time construction had begun on a bypass of Spring Glen. It was opened to traffic by 1964. US 209 initially entered Kingston on what is now Old Route 209 and Hurley Avenue. Within the city, the route followed North Front Street, and Clinton, Albany, and Ulster Avenues to a terminus at East Chester Street (US 9W). At the time, US 209 had an
overlap with
NY 32 from Broadway to Flatbush Avenue. The new route was completed by 1964 and became a realignment of US 209. ==Future==