New York State Route 38
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| NY Route 38 |
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| Maintained by NYSDOT | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 95.65 mi[1] (153.93 km) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1930 | ||||||||||||
| South end: |  NY 96 near Owego |
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| Major junctions: |
  US 20/NY 5 in Auburn |
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| North end: |  NY 104A in Sterling |
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| Counties: | Tioga, Cortland, Tompkins, Cayuga | ||||||||||||
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New York State Route 38 is a north-south New York State Route located mainly within Tioga, Tompkins, and Cayuga Counties in Central New York. A very brief portion of the route travels through Cortland County. Its southern terminus is located at a junction with New York State Route 96 in the village of Owego in Tioga County. The northern terminus is located at a junction with New York State Route 104A in the town of Sterling in Cayuga County.
Route 38 has no sections of freeway along its entire route and is mainly a 2-lane local road for most of its length. The route is the main access road to parts of Auburn, Dryden, Newark Valley and Port Byron. Its terrain is mainly flat, especially in Cayuga County and the Finger Lakes.
NY 38 passes along the western edge of Fillmore Glen State Park south of Moravia. NY 38 runs along the entire western side of Owasco Lake. Parts of the highway in the Town of Fleming are against the lake shore itself. In Auburn, NY 38 passes near the Harriet Tubman Home, located just south of the southern end of the overlap with NY 34, and passes by the Auburn Prison, Fort Hill Cemetery (accessible via Fitch Street), and the William H. Seward House.
In the 1924 State Route numbering for New York, it was designated as Route 26 from Moravia to Dryden. Route 38 was then assigned in its current length in the 1930 New York State Route renumbering. Route 38 once began at the intersection with New York State Routes 17, 96 and 434 in downtown Owego. The route was later truncated.
Route 38 has two suffixed routes, NY 38A, which runs from Moravia to Auburn, and NY 38B, which is in rural Tioga County.
Contents |
[edit] Route description
[edit] Tioga County
[edit] Owego to East Newark
Route 38 begins at an intersection with New York State Route 96 in Owego. The road heads northward as 2-lane highway through forests. There are homes along the highway as well, with the highway coming into a business district. The business district passes a large corporation along with some small homes. Route 38 turns to the northeast, passing fields and forests until intersecting with Tioga County Route 33 (West Creek Road) south of the hamlet of Flemingsville. Not far after, there is an intersection with a connector road.[2]
County Route 33, part of which is a former alignment of Route 38, parallels for a short distance. The former alignment turns off County Route 33 and merges into Route 38. County designated highway 607 begins soon after, and heads to the southeast. The highway continues northward, passing homes, fields, and forests for some distance. Several local roads intersect for the next few miles until the intersection with NY 38B in East Newark.[2]
[edit] East Newark to Cortland County line
After the intersection with NY 38B, Route 38 continues northward, entering the village of Newark Valley. Newark Valley is a suburbanized village, with residential and commercial buildings surrounding the highway for its entire length through the area. The highway leaves the village uneventfully and continues northward. County designated highway 404 and county route 37 both intersect just north of the village. Highway 404 heads westward while County Route 37 heads eastward. Just north of that intersection, Route 38 passes the Newark Valley Country Club.[2]
County Route 37 parallels to the east, as Route 38 heads northward past the Brookside Mobile Home Park. Route 38 soon turns to the northwest, parallelling a nearby railroad track into Berskhire. There, it intersects with County Route 8 and nearby County Route 10. Berkshire is small, with just homes and small commercial buildings surrounding the highway. Route 38 then leaves Berkshire and continues northward. The railroad tracks that were parallelling to the east now parallel to the west as both turn to the northwest. It is not much farther that Route 38 heads northward again, but then again turn to the northeast.[2]
Route 38 enters the town of Richford, intersecting with New York State Route 79 in downtown. Richford is a small town, with typical suburban buildings following NY 38. Route 79 parallels Route 38 for a short distance, until turning to the east. The roads both leave Richford soon after. After Richford, the tracks have once again changed sides and are parallelling to the east in an area surrounded by forests and fields. Route 38 makes constant changes in direction as it progresses northward, until crossing into Cortland County north of Richford.[2]
[edit] Cortland County
Route 38 does not spend a long time in Cortland County, only about 3.38 miles (5.44 km). After crossing in from Tioga County, Route 38 intersects with New York State Route 200 when it enters the hamlet of Harford Mills. Although Harford Mills is not directly on Route 38, it is accessible via Route 200, which heads eastward, intersecting with New York State Route 221 later. The main highway heads to the northwest out of Harford Mills and into more rural regions. Not too much farther on, Route 38 enters Harford, intersecting with the aforementioned Route 221.[3]
After Route 221, Route 38 heads to the northwest still, intersecting with several county roads before leaving Harford and soon after, Cortland County.[3]
[edit] Tompkins County
[edit] Cortland County line to Dryden
Route 38 then enters Tompkins County after the intersection with Cortland County Route 137A. There, it changes names from State Route 38 to Dryden-Harford Road. Most of the length for this stretch is farmlands, fields, and small patches of trees. As Route 38 leaves Cortland County behind, it heads to the northwest, passing to the southwest of Dryden Lake. The route then begins to pass a more suburbanized area as it approaches Dryden.[4]
Unsigned Tompkins County Route 157 (Lake Street) parallels to the northeast soon after. More homes and trees begin to surround the highway as it heads northward. The next several intersection with local roads, until CR 157 merges in. Route 38 then enters downtown Dryden, where it intersects with both New York State Route 13 and New York State Route 392. This is Route 392's western terminus and the beginning of a northward concurrency with Route 13.[4]
Routes 13 and 38 head northward, passing through downtown Dryden. Just before leaving Dryden, the two highways split, with Route 38 heading to the east along the village border. Unlike downtown Dryden, this section of the village is more residential until leaving the village completely at the intersection with Springhouse Road.[4]
[edit] Dryden to Groton
After leaving Dryden behind, Route 38 continues to the east of Freeville Road. The surroundings of the highway remain the same as the stretch along the village line. Route 38 then turns to the northeast, parallelling County Route 163, which is in Lacy Corners, about a mile in the other direction. Not far afterwards, Route 38 begins to be urbanized again, with more buildings surrounding the highway. The highway makes a curve to the east once again, entering the village of Freeville, New York.[4]
In Freeville, the road is highly urbanized, intersecting with the northern terminus of New York State Route 366 and the southern terminus of County Route 105 in the center of town. Route 38 then heads out of Freeville, becoming rural again. The highway then intersects with County Route 108 until turning to the north once again. Not far after leaving Freeville, Route 38 enters Peruville, a hamlet in Tompkins County. There it intersects with the southern terminus of New York State Route 34B and the western terminus of County Route 107. This also used to be the terminus for the former NY 229, which was instated along NY 34B.[4]
Not far afterwards, Route 38 intersects with the suffixed route of County Route 107, CR 107A, and eaves Peruville. After leaving the hamlet, the surroundings become nothing but forests. There are a few intersections with local roads until entering Groton, where it intersects with a few local and county roads. Route 38 then intersects with New York State Route 222's western terminus before leaving the village.[4]
[edit] Groton to Cayuga County line
After leaving Groton, Route 38 heads to the northwest in more rural regions. Intersecting with County Route 171, which parallels it for a distance. There are some homes along the way, but these are scarce. Just north of that intersection, Route 38 leaves Tompkins County for Cayuga County.[4]
[edit] Cayuga County
[edit] Tompkins County line to Locke
County Route 171, which becomes County Route 161, follows Route 38 into Cayuga County. Routes 38 and 161 pass farmlands, residential homes, and small forest patches. Not far afterwards, Route 38 then leaves County Route 161, passing forests and other local homes. Homes become scarce after intersecting with a local road in the hamlet of Chipmans Corners, which the nearby county road is named after. Route 38 heads to the northwest, passing a small pond to the west. The highway then leaves Chipmans Corners rather uneventfully.[5]
Route 38 once ran on what is now Old State Road south of Locke. It was realigned and now runs on Locke Road. Not far afterward, the former alignment merges in before entering downtown Locke. There, it intersects with New York State Route 90. Downtown Locke is urbanized, and like most villages along the former parts of the highway, is surrounded by commercial and residential properties. After the intersection with Taylor Avenue, Route 38 then leaves Locke and continues northward for Auburn.[5]
[edit] Locke to Moravia
After Locke, Route 38 then begins to enter the Finger Lakes region of New York. There are a few homes, but these are scarce, with nothing really surrounding the highway. Route 38 heads northward, entering the hamlet of Toll Gates Corners. Toll Gates Corners is a small hamlet, intersecting with Tollgate Hill Road. There, it becomes surburbanized, with the highway becoming surrounded by more farmland. Tollgate Hill Road later becomes a county road near a country club.[5]
Not far after the hamlet, Route 38 enters Moravia, where it intersects with the second of its two suffixed routes, New York State Route 38A. Moravia is a very urbanized village, with homes and businesses surrounding the road for about a mile. Route 38 then, after intersecting with its suffixed route, turns westward, leaving Moravia behind. After leaving Moravia, there is a few homes and businesses, along with a few industrial properties. Route 38 crosses a river and becomes rural once again.[5]
[edit] Moravia to Auburn
There is nothing of much interest along Route 38 until the highway gets closer to Auburn. Forests and fields are the main surroundings for about 10 miles (16 km). There is a short patch of trees near Ashland, it passes Owasco Lake. Owasco Lake is part of the Finger Lakes and the signal that Route 38 is getting closer to Auburn. Route 38 then parallels New York State Route 34, which is to the west. Along the shore of Owasco Lake, the highway intersects with some local fire lanes.[5]
Route 38 then crosses through the hamlet of Owasco Lake Station. Its suffixed route, NY 38A, parallels on the other side of the lake. The closest Routes 38 and 38A get since the intersection in Moravia is in Melrose Park, where it intersects at a traffic circle with New York State Route 437, the shortest touring route in New York. Route 38 becomes more urbanized once again as it begins to enter Auburn.[5]
[edit] City of Auburn
As Route 38 enters the city of Auburn, it passes homes, local roads and businesses. There are a few parks along the way as well. Route 38 becomes a divided highway just north of the roundabout with Route 437. The highway passes a high school, which fields is visible from Route 38. The highway then becomes a center road in downtown Auburn, intersecting with local roads and passing residential homes. The divider that splits NY 38 northbound and NY 38 southbound is more of a park and has spontaneous trees.[5]
Route 38 continues northward, until the intersection with Swift Street, where it turns eastward. Although the highway changed streets, the surroundings have not changed. The highway then passes a small park as it becomes a normal highway once again. Soon after, Route 38 turns off Swift Street and onto South Street, which begins a concurrency with New York State Route 34. Routes 38 and 34 continue northward, passing homes for most of its length. After the intersection with Logan Street, Routes 38 and 34 enter downtown Auburn.[5]
At an intersection with William Street, Seward Park splits the local road with the two highways, which continue northward. Businesses begin to appear along the two state touring routes, until the intersection with Lincoln Street, where it becomes fully commercial. Soon afterwards, it intersects with th East Arterial, also known as U.S. Route 20 and New York State Route 5. Routes 20 and 5 are a divided highway, with Routes 34 and 38 intersecting with the eastbound direction first. Just afterwards, Route 38 turns on the westbound direction, leaving NY 34 behind.[5]
Routes 5, 20 and 38 head westward as the West Arterial until the intersection with Slate Street, where Route 38 turns northward. The surroundings around Route 38 remain commercial, with a pair of railroad tracks parallelling to the east. At the intersection with York Street, Route 38 leaves Auburn.[5]
[edit] Auburn to Port Byron
Leaving Auburn behind, Route 38 continues its next stretch, which is from Auburn to Victory. The first hamlet along the way is Cold Spring, which is small and moderately developed. For a stretch, there are houses surrounding the highway in both directions until the highway enters the hamlet of Sawyers Corners. There, homes begin to turn into farmland and Route 38 intersects with County Route 10B in the downtown.[5]
Downtown Sawyers Corners is well developed, with homes surrounding the road for about a mile. After the intersection with Peach Tree Road, Route 38 leaves Sawyers Corners completely. Forests then become dominant on the sides of the highway, with homes peaking out every once in a while. As the highway shifts directions to the northwest, it passes a small pond to the east. This small pond flows into a creek, which continues northward along Route 38.[5]
A short residential section of Route 38 appears at the intersection for County Route 144A (Hayden Road). Not far afterwards, there is a housing complex to the west. As Route 38 continues northward, it begins to enter Port Byron and becomes known as Main Street.[5]
[edit] Port Byron
In Port Byron, Route 38 intersects with the Tex Pultz Parkway before passing Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Port Byron is a highly developed village, so the surroundings of Route 38 are mainly the same as in past villages and cities. In the center of the village, Route 38 becomes concurrent with New York State Route 31. The two highways continue to the west as Rochester Street until Route 38 turns northward off of Route 31. Route 38 continues northward, passing several homes and crossing over the New York State Thruway. After the Thruway overpass, Route 38 leaves Port Byron, and the highway becomes rural once again.[5]
[edit] Port Byron to Victory
For the next 12 miles (19 km), Route 38 heads northward through rural areas. The first hamlet along the way is North Port Byron, which is just north of the village itself. There are mainly patches of forests passing Route 38. The creek that was parallelling earlier returns to the east, with the highway crossing over railroad tracks. County Route 56, which was parallelling even farther to the east, merges in with Route 38 in Howland.[5]
There is now a creek on the western side of the highway, as Route 38 becomes known as Conquest Road. Not far afterwards, Route 38 crosses over the Seneca River and enters Mosquito Point. Not far afterwards, the highway enters Hard Point, just north of the aforementioned hamlet. Hard Point and Mosquito Point are mainly made up of houses and trees and not highly populated. Route 38 cotninues northward, entering Conquest, a village south of Victory.[5]
Conquest is not well-developed, so Route 38 mainly passes fields and some homes. Route 38 otherwise, leaves Conquest uneventfully. Soon afterwards, the highway becomes completely rural, with fields surrounding it for miles. Not far from downtown Conquest, Route 38 crosses the town line for Victory.[5]
[edit] Victory to Sterling
Once Route 38 enters Victory, the rural nature of the highway does not change, excepting for a few residential homes. Otherwise, fields still dominate the highway until Route 38 enters downtown Victory. Victory is moderately developed, with homes surrounding the road until the intersection with New York State Route 370. At that intersection, Route 38 leaves downtown Victory and heads north on its final stretch to Sterling.[5]
The fields and occasional homes surround Route 38 again, and the highway turns to the northeast. Forests then surround the highway, as aforementioned, there are some homes in this underdeveloped area. However, as the highway continues northward, it begins to develop a little more, and the highway enters North Victory. A connector from Route 104 intersects in downtown, with the main New York State Route 104 intersecting just a little farther ahead.[5]
This area is a little more developed, with homes, fields and some parks beginning to surround the highway. However, this does not last long as Route 38 leaves North Victory on its final stretch to Sterling. The highway passes through the hamlet of Finches Corners and forests begin to dominate the highway for the last time. There are patches of homes, but not as many as before and the final intersection is with Onionville Road just south of Sterling.[5]
In Sterling, Route 38 terminates at an intersection with New York State Route 104A (the Seaway Trail).[5]
[edit] History
[edit] Old roads
Part of Route 38 was a section of the Cortland and Owego Turnpike, which was signed into law on April 13, 1819. The highway started in the village of Cortland, headed across what is now New York State Route 392 to Virgil, and soon onto now-Route 38 in Berkshire. The turnpike continued to the south to end in the village of Owego.[6]
There was also a section along Route 38 of the Auburn and Port Byron Turnpike. Chartered in 1825, the turnpike connected the two aforementioned municipalities via a privately-maintained turnpike.[7] The highway was also part of the Auburn and Moravia Plank Road, which, chartered in 1851, ran along the western side of Owasco Lake.[7][8]
[edit] Designation
During the 1924 numbering of state highways in New York, Route 38 from near Ithaca all the way to Moravia was part of the former New York State Route 26. The part of now-Route 38 from the southern terminus in Owego to the village of Freeville was once part of New York State Route 42. Route 42 was assigned between 1924 and 1926 on its routing.[9] Route 42 in the renumbering was completely changed to Route 38.[10] When the 1930 New York State Route renumbering occurred, this section, and the whole highway was renumbered as Route 38.[11]
When it was assigned in 1930, Route 38 originally began at the interchange of New York State Route 17, New York State Route 96 and New York State Route 434 (coming in 1970[12]) via a concurrency with Route 96. This also included an intersection with New York State Route 17C in downtown Owego.[13] Route 38 was truncated by 1994.[14] Also, when the highway was signed that year, the part next to Owasco Lake was still under construction.[15] The route was completed and aligned by 1936 and remains to this date.[16][17]
[edit] Suffixed routes
- NY 38A (21.91 miles (35.26 km)[1]) runs from Moravia to NY 359, near Mandana and NY 41A in southwestern Onondaga County, and then towards Auburn.
- NY 38B (7.69 miles (12.38 km)[1]) is a short spur in Broome and Tioga Counties connecting NY 38 in Newark Valley in the west to NY 26 in Union in the east.
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Roads intersected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tioga | Village of Owego | 0.00 | NY 96 |
|
| Village of Newark Valley | 7.29 |  NY 38B |
Western terminus of NY 38B | |
| Richford | 18.01 |  NY 79 |
||
| Cortland | Harford | 21.94 |  NY 200 |
Hamlet of Harford Mills; western terminus of NY 200 |
| 23.53 |  NY 221 |
Western terminus of NY 221 | ||
| Tompkins | Village of Dryden | 29.69 |   NY 13 / NY 392 |
Western terminus of NY 392; southern terminus of NY 13/NY 38 overlap |
| 30.22 | NY 13 |
Northern terminus of overlap | ||
| Freeville | 33.29 |  NY 366 |
Eastern terminus of NY 366 | |
| Town of Dryden | 35.93 |  NY 34B |
Hamlet of Peruville; eastern terminus of NY 34B | |
| Village of Groton | 39.04 |  NY 222 |
Western terminus of NY 222 | |
| Cayuga | Locke | 45.15 |  NY 90 |
|
| Village of Moravia | 48.91 |  NY 38A |
Southern terminus of NY 38A | |
| Auburn | 64.56 |  NY 437 |
Western terminus of NY 437 | |
| 66.57 |  NY 34 |
Southern terminus of overlap | ||
| 67.49 | US 20 / NY 5 east |
|||
| 67.53 | US 20 / NY 5 west/ NY 34 |
Northern terminus of NY 34/NY 38 overlap; eastern terminus of NY 5/US 20/NY 38 overlap | ||
| 67.70 | US 20 / NY 5 |
Western terminus of overlap | ||
| Port Byron | 75.27 |  NY 31 |
Eastern terminus of overlap | |
| 75.67 | NY 31 |
Western terminus of overlap | ||
| Victory | 87.17 |  NY 370 |
||
| Martville | 91.23 |  NY 104 |
Hamlet of North Victory. | |
| Sterling | 95.65 | NY 104A |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Traffic Data Report - NY 32 to NY 55 (PDF). NYSDOT (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ a b c d e Yahoo Maps. Overview map of NY 38 in Tioga County [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b Yahoo Maps. Overview map of NY 38 in Cortland County [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g Yahoo Maps. Overview map of NY 38 in Tompkins County [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Google Maps. Overview map of NY 38 in Cayuga County [map]. Cartography by NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ Laws of the State of New York. State of New York. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ a b Legislative Document. New York State Legislature, 64. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Sherry H. Penney. A Very Dangerous Woman: Martha Wright and Women's Rights, 84. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Rand McNally. New York (western) 1926 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers", New York Times, 1924-12-21, p. XX9.
- ^ Leon A. Dickinson. "New Signs for State Highways", New York Times, 1930-01-12, p. 136.
- ^ State of New York Department of Transportation (1970-01-01). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ United States Geological Survey. Owego, NY quadrangle [map]. Cartography by United States Geological Survey. (1969) Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ New York State Department of Transportation. Owego, NY quadrangle [map]. Cartography by New York State Department of Transportation. (1994) Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book, 1930/31 and 1931/32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930/31 edition shows New York state routes prior to the 1930 renumbering
- ^ Esso. New York [map]. Cartography by General Drafting. (1936)
- ^ I Love New York. 1977-2007 I love New York state map [map].
