New York State Route 14

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NY Route 14
Length: 94.54 mi[1] (152.15 km)
Formed: Prior to 1930
South end: PA 14 in Ashland
Major
junctions:
I-86/NY 17 in Horseheads
NY 5/US 20 in Geneva
I-90/TH/NY 318 in Phelps
North end: Greig Street cul-de-sac in Sodus Pt.
Counties: Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Ontario, Wayne
Numbered highways in New York
< NY 13A NY 14A >
Interstates - U.S. Routes - State Routes

New York State Route 14 is a state highway located in western New York. Along with NY 19, it is one of two routes to transect the state in a north-south fashion between the Pennsylvania border and Lake Ontario. The southern terminus is at the state line, where it continues south as PA 14, in the town of Ashland, Chemung County. Its northern terminus is at a cul-de-sac on Greig Street in Sodus Point, Wayne County.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] Chemung County

The highway descends South Mountain along the South Creek valley from Pennsylvania. It intersects with the eastern terminus of NY 328 and the southern terminus of the Clemens Center Parkway in the town of Southport. NY 14 follows the parkway into Elmira, intersecting with NY 427 before crossing into city limits.

Route 14 intersects with both directions of NY 352 in downtown Elmira. Near Eldridge Park, the highway follows Thurston Street to College Avenue, where it continues as a main road through Elmira Heights.

North of Elmira Heights, it is known locally as the Miracle Mile. At the northern end of this section, NY 14 meets exit 52 on the Southern Tier Expressway, carrying Interstate 86 and NY 17. This is also the current eastern terminus of I-86. North of here, it follows Westinghouse Road until it reaches a T-intersection near the Holding Point in Horseheads.

From here, the highway follows the Catherine Creek valley through Pine Valley and Millport before crossing into Schuyler County.

[edit] Schuyler County

NY 14 continues in the river valley to Montour Falls before entering Watkins Glen.

Route 14 runs concurrently with Route 414 through much of the village. The part of this stretch between NY 329 and NY 409 was part of the original Watkins Glen Grand Prix race course. The main entrance to Watkins Glen State Park is also located within this stretch. The park's 400-foot-deep gorge is visible from the highway.

North of Watkins Glen, Route 14 runs along a ridge overlooking the west shore of Seneca Lake, through the heart of the Finger Lakes wine region. A spur, Route 14A, branches off to the west near Glenora. Three miles to the north, NY 14 enters Yates County.

[edit] Yates County

NY 14 continues to parallel the west shore of Seneca Lake as it progresses through the county. The route meets the northern terminus of Route 54 in Dresden. Six miles to the north, NY 14 moves into Ontario County.

[edit] Ontario County

The highway enters Geneva on South Main Street near the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, which are known collectively as The Colleges of the Seneca. There is an interchange with NY 5 and US 20, locally referred to as "Routes 5 and 20", near the northeastern corner of the campus. The highway follows Castle Street for about two blocks, then continues north on Exchange Street.

There are few curves north of Geneva, as the terrain is much flatter north of the Finger Lakes than it is in the southern portions of the highway. The highway interchanges with NY 96 south of an intersection with NY 318 in the town of Phelps. The latter intersection provides access to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) at exit 42.

[edit] Wayne County

In Wayne County, Route 14 intersects with NY 31 in Lyons and NY 104 in Alton before ending in a cul-de-sac on Greig Street in Sodus Point.

[edit] Communities along the route

Major locations along NY 14:

[edit] Major intersections

County Location Mile Road(s) Notes
Chemung Ashland 0.0 PA 14 Northern terminus of PA 14.
Town of Elmira 6.5 NY 328 Eastern terminus of NY 328.
City of Elmira 7.1 NY 427  
9.1
NY 352
 
9.3
NY 352
 
Horseheads 14.6 I-86
NY 17
Current eastern terminus of I-86.
Exit 52 (I-86/NY 17).
Schuyler Montour Falls 28.5 NY 224 Northern terminus of NY 224.
Watkins Glen 30.7 NY 414 Southern terminus of duplex.
31.0 NY 329 Eastern terminus of NY 329.
31.4 NY 409 Eastern terminus of NY 409.
31.4 NY 414 Northern terminus of duplex.
Gabriel's Junction 34.7 NY 14A Southern terminus of NY 14A.
Yates Starkey 44.2 NY 230 Former eastern terminus of NY 230.
Dresden 53.6 NY 54 Northern terminus of NY 54.
Ontario City of Geneva 66.4 NY 5
US 20
 
Town of Phelps 72.6 NY 96 Grade-separated interchange.
73.2 I-90/Thruway
NY 318
Exit 42 (I-90/Thruway).
Western terminus of NY 318.
Wayne Lyons 80.5 NY 31  
Alton 90.9 NY 104  
Sodus Point 94.5 Greig St. cul-de-sac  
Legend
Crossing, no access Concurrency termini Decommissioned Unconstructed Closed

[edit] History

[edit] Elmira area

The original alignment of NY 14 through Elmira took the designation along Broadway, Walnut Street, Roe Avenue and Davis Street. In Elmira Heights, the road name became Oakwood Avenue. At Grand Central Avenue, NY 14 turned onto Grand Central, running along the street into Horseheads. Within the village, NY 14 occupied Franklin Street, North Main Street and Watkins Road before meeting its current alignment north of Horseheads.

Circa 1970, the alignment was altered to allow NY 14 to use Pennsylvania Avenue, then part of NY 328, to enter Elmira from the south. The two routes duplexed along this road before splitting at South Main Street. NY 14 continued north on Pennsylvania Avenue, crossing the Chemung River on the Madison Avenue Bridge. North of the Chemung, NY 14 continued north on Madison before turning west onto Washington Avenue and north onto Grand Central Avenue, meeting its previous alignment at the intersection with Oakwood Avenue in Elmira Heights.

The flood caused by the remnants of Hurricane Agnes in 1972 caused a number of roads in downtown Elmira to be realigned or, in some cases, converted to one-way streets. Madison Avenue was one of these roads, forcing the NY 14 designation off of Madison and onto Church Street, which carried NY 352 in both directions at the time, where it proceeded east to NY 17. At an interchange, NY 14 joined the route west to what is now exit 52, where NY 14 left the expressway and joined its present alignment through Horseheads and northward.

The routing of state routes in Elmira were drastically altered in October 1978. The duplex between NY 14 and NY 328 along Pennsylvania Avenue was eliminated when NY 328 was truncated to the southwestern terminus of the duplex in Southport. NY 14 was then moved onto the former alignment of NY 328 through Elmira and Elmira Heights. NY 14 now turned north at Main Street off of Pennsylvania Avenue, following Main, Park Place, College Avenue and Corning Road north to NY 17 exit 52, where it met its current alignment.

During this same period, construction started on the Elmira Arterial, eventually known as the Clemens Center Parkway. The first sections of the road opened circa 1980. It would be another 20 years before it reached completion, however. When the parkway was finished in Fall 2001, NY 14 was realigned onto its present course through Elmira.[1]

[edit] Miscellanea

[edit] Pop-Culture Reference

  • A photograph of the intersection at the north end of Westinghouse Road in Horseheads serves as the cover of The Band's live album recorded at Summer Jam in 1973.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b New York Routes - New York State Route 14