New York State Route 300

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NY Route 300

Length:

14.67 mi^[1] (23.61 km)

South end:

NY 32/NY 94 in Vails Gate

Major
junctions:

I-87/Thwy in New Windsor

I-84 in Newburgh

North end:

NY 208 in Wallkill

Counties:

Orange, Ulster

Numbered highways in New York
< NY 299		NY 301 >
Interstates - U.S. Routes - State Routes

New York State Route 300 is a state highway near Newburgh, New York. Its southern terminus is the five-way intersection with NY 32 and NY 94 at Vails Gate. From there it runs northwest and north to its northern terminus at NY 208 near the hamlet of Wallkill. Its two major changes of direction are marked by slightly unusual intersections with other state highways.

1 Route description
- 1.1 Orange County
- 1.2 Ulster County
2 Communities along the route
3 Major intersections
4 History
5 Miscellanea
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Route description

[edit] Orange County

From Vails Gate Junction (also known as the Five Points), Route 300, under the name Temple Hill Road, heads west-northwest past the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site, where George Washington dismissed the Continental Army in 1783. Following that, at a junction with Orange County Route 69, it becomes Union Avenue. Under this name, it is concurrent with NY 207(Little Britain Road) for 0.4 mile (643 m) when NY 207 comes in from the northeast. At the next junction, a traffic light just east of the New York State Thruway, NY 207 continues straight ahead to the west and Goshen while NY 300 turns right and heads north.

Southern terminus of Route 300, at Vails Gate Junction

Here it expands to two lanes in both directions as it crosses from the Town of New Windsor into the Town of Newburgh. The next three miles (5 km) of NY 300 is the Newburgh area's main commercial strip, and Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, Barnes & Noble and other chain stores have taken up residence there in recent decades, along with local favorites such as Adams Fairacre Farms. A middle turn lane has been added through here, past the NY 17K traffic light all the way up to NY 52.

North of NY 17K there are a few more hotels and offices and finally the junction with I-84 and the New York State Thruway-Interstate 87, which has long been a major problem on NY 300.

Traffic from the Thruway has historically been routed to 84 via the short stretch of NY 300 between them. Exit 17 has existed in its current configuration since the opening of the road, according to available maps^{[citation needed]}. I-84 was opened north and east of the junction in the early 1960s; west of the junction a decade later. At the time the Thruway was built there was little traffic on NY 300 (at that time, a town road); the completion of 84 and subsequent development of the NY 300 corridor has increased traffic volumes in the area significantly.

Presently, traffic leaves the freeway and encounters STOP signs and traffic signals while linking between roads. The inadequate cloverleaf design of the junction leads to problems, especially with articulateds, which must slow significantly to negotiate the sharp loop slips, and weave with traffic attempting to leave the freeway westbound. The 84 off-slips have STOP signs at the NY 300 termini; and there is no cloverleaf weaving area northbound through the junction. Southbound, traffic must weave to join NY 300, or bear right to join the Thruway.

For many years state and local officials had wanted to build a direct connection between 84 and the Thruway; federal funding did not become available until the very end of the 20th century and construction has only recently begun. The Thruway Authority has a project in the works to link junction 17 directly with the IH 84, bypassing NY 300; and reconstruction of the NY 300 and Interstate 84 junction (No. 7). Plans online show this as a diamond junction for the Interstate 84/NY 300 link; but there are signals in place for a left turn not shown in the Thruway Authority plans.

The junction between the Thruway and Interstate 84 works were begun in 2001 but the project was delayed when the original contractor for the job was found to have ties to organized crime^{[citation needed]}. As of May 2006 total work on the project consisted of

a rebuilding of the eastbound Exit 7 off-slip,
removal of the southbound NY 300 to eastbound 84 loop slip, *installation of a traffic light,
routing of the southbound NY 300 to eastbound IH 84 movement via the same onslip that services the northbound NY 300 to Eastbound IH 84 movement.

The offslip for northbound junction 17 on the Thruway has been widened to two lanes and new signage has gone up on the northbound Thruway and westbound 84.

An additional complication to the project may arise because of severe pier deterioration on the NY 17K overpass immediately south of junction 17, which may require replacement of that bridge earlier than originally expected.^{[citation needed]}

Silas Gardner House on Route 300

North of 84, NY 300 passes the modest Newburgh Mall and an assortment of other retail establishments until the commercial zoning finally ends at the NY-52 intersection, which marks the center of the area of the town of Newburgh known as Gardnertown, after early settler Silas Gardner, whose stone house is still in use just north of the intersection, past Moodna Creek.

Here 300 reverts to two lanes immediately south of the NY 52 junction; Union Avenue leaves NY 300 to the northwest after the NY 52 junction, as a town road. North of this junction, NY 300 passes the Town of Newburgh's municipal building and Gardnertown Magnet School of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. After several more miles, it reaches the Town Court at the junction with NY 32, which marks the center of the area of town known as Cronomer Valley.

While the junction is a standard four-way intersection, the highways do not intersect as such. Instead, NY 300 turns left, heading west-northwest again toward Wallkill. This section is also rural two-lane road, crossing the Thruway, on a bridge rebuilt in 2005, and featuring the only integrated pier cap type bridge to be found in the area. NY 300 enters Ulster County near the top of Kings Hill, the highest elevation in the town.

[edit] Ulster County

As it runs across the eastern half of the Town of Shawangunk, it trends to a more westerly direction before terminating at the junction with NY 208 northwest of the Hamlet of Wallkill.

[edit] Communities along the route

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Road(s)	Notes
Orange	Vails Gate	0.0	NY 32 NY 94
	Town of New Windsor	2.4	NY 207	Southern terminus of duplex.
		2.8	NY 17A	Northern terminus of duplex.
		4.5	I-87/Thruway	Exit 17 (I-87/Thruway).
		4.9	I-84	Exit 7 (I-84).
	Gardnertown	5.7	NY 52
	Croomer Valley	7.6	NY 32
Ulster	Wallkill	14.7	NY 208

Legend
Crossing, no access	Concurrency termini	Decommissioned	Unconstructed	Closed

[edit] History

The section multiplexed with 207 was relocated slightly when it was widened just east of the Thruway. The former right-of-way is still visible in the woods just north of the roadway.