New York State Route 59

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NY Route 59
Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway
Length: 14.08 mi[1] (22.66 km)
Formed: 1920s[2][3]
West end: NY 17 in Hillburn
Major
junctions:		 US 202 in Suffern
NY 304 in Nanuet
PIP in West Nyack
NY 303 in Central Nyack
East end: US 9W in Nyack
Counties: Rockland
Numbered highways in New York
< NY 58 NY 60 >
Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference
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New York State Route 59 is an east-west road in southern Rockland County in the State of New York. NY 59 runs from NY 17, at Exit 15A of the New York State Thruway, in Hillburn, to US 9W in Nyack. In Suffern, New York, it shares a concurrency with U.S. Route 202 for 0.05 miles. NY 59 runs parallel to the New York State Thruway its entire route. The routing of NY 59 was designated a state highway in 1911 and signed as NY 59 in the late 1920s.

The presence of grade-separated interchanges at NY 304, Strawtown Road (CR 23), Western Highway (CR 15) and NY 303, along with the southern half of the formerly proposed Spring Valley Bypass, indicates that it may have been proposed at one time as a toll-free alternative to the Thruway for local, limited-access traffic. NY 59 used to go further east along Main Street in Nyack to North Broadway.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Signs at the 17-59 intersection.
Signs at the 17-59 intersection.

NY 59 begins at I-87 and NY 17 in Hillburn, just south of the village of Sloatsburg. For most of its run, NY 59 is a partial freeway also called the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. The route is labeled an east/west route, but for the beginning of the route until it hits U.S. Route 202 in Suffern, New York it runs in a north/south direction. Just before NY 59 changes to an east/west direction, it passes under the New York State Thruway. This is at the I-87/I-287 interchange with NY 17 and I-287. At this underpass, NY 59 enters the village limits of Suffern.[4]

In Suffern, NY 59 has a brief wrong way concurrency with U.S. Route 202 as NY 59 eastbound is paired with US 202 westbound and visa versa. At the end of the brief concurrency, NY 59 turns eastward toward central Rockland County, and US 202 heads into New Jersey. As NY 59 leaves Suffern and enters Airmont it passes Good Samaritan Hospital, which is a major hospital in Rockland. While in Airmont, NY 59 intersects CR 89 and CR 85. After leaving Airmont, NY 59 proceeds east through Monsey. Here it intersects the southern terminus of NY 306. This is a pretty busy interchange in downtown Monsey.[4]

NY 45 at NY 59 in Spring Valley. A mile to the east, NY 59 intersects the Thruway.
NY 45 at NY 59 in Spring Valley. A mile to the east, NY 59 intersects the Thruway.

As NY 59 passes Spring Valley High School, it enters the village limits of Spring Valley. While, in Spring Valley, NY 59 has an overlap with CR 35A for about a tenth of a mile. In Spring Valley, NY 59 has its second interchange with the NY Thruway (Exit 14). Only the NY Thruway northbound is accessible here, but for those wanting to go southbound need to drive past the Nanuet town line. In Nanuet, NY 59 passes through a heavy commercialized area. Before its busy intersection with CR 33, NY 59 passes the Nanuet Mall to its south and the Rockland Plaza to its north.[4]

Upon entering West Nyack, NY 59 intersects the PIP (Exit 8) and NY 304. The route then passes the Palisades Center Mall, which one of the largest shopping malls in the country. Immediately after passing the Palisades Center, NY 59 briefly enters Central Nyack. Here it has a traditional interchange with NY 303. Before hitting the Nyack townline, NY 59 has its third and final interchange with the NY Thruway. The southbound entrance to the Tappan Zee Bridge is via Mountainview Avenue, and the northbound entrance is via Polhemus Street. At the Nyack line, NY 59 becomes known as Main Street. As Main Street, NY 59 runs under the New York State Thruway one final time before the Thruway heads over the bridge. Finally, NY 59 comes to its end at an intersection with U.S. Route 9W in Nyack. Main Street continues into downtown Nyack.[4]

[edit] History

The bridge carrying NY 59 over the Norfolk Southern Railway near its western terminus in Hillburn
The bridge carrying NY 59 over the Norfolk Southern Railway near its western terminus in Hillburn

NY Route 59 originated as the Nyack Turnpike, which was the first major thoroughfare in Rockland County.[5] Stemming from an 1813 petition, legislation was passed on April 17, 1816 to begin construction on the Nyack Turnpike. In the 1830s, after many years of opposition, the Nyack Turnpike was completed from Suffern to Nyack. Its charter was renewed multiple times throughout the 19th century, and was designated as a toll road to help pay for its upkeep. In 1894, the turnpike was absorbed into the Rockland County road system.[6]

The turnpike was turned over from the county to New York State on July 14, 1911[6] and added to the state highway system as part of Route 39-b, a legislative route extending from Nyack (at Broadway) to Harriman via modern NY 59 and NY 17.[7] When state highways in New York were first signed in 1924, the portion of legislative Route 39-b between Nyack and Suffern was not given a number.[8] It remained unnumbered until the late 1920s when it was signed as NY 59. At the time, NY 59 extended east into Nyack along Main Street to meet U.S. Route 9W at Broadway. Between Nanuet and Central Nyack, NY 59 was routed on West Nyack Road.[2][3] The route was rendered unchanged in the 1930 New York State Route renumbering.[9] When US 9W was rerouted to bypass Nyack on Highland Avenue by 1952, NY 59 was truncated to current eastern terminus.[10] NY 59 was later rerouted onto its modern alignment between Nanuet and Central Nyack by 1962.[11]

During the 1960s, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) noticed a population boom in Rockland County. Therefore, a toll-free, limited-access highway (Spring Valley Bypass) was planned to bypass Spring Valley. This was planned as a "J" shaped road along the east side of existing NY 45 and the south side of NY 59. The southwest end would have been at the intersection of NY 59 and 306 in Monsey, while the north end would have been somewhere along NY 45 in New Square. This may have also included a northern extension of the Garden State Parkway. However, it was cancelled due to public opposition.[12]

With the Spring Valley Bypass plan being cancelled, traffic continued to pour through the Spring Valley/Nanuet area. In 1987, a task force was introduced to come up with a plan to solve this issue. Traffic would become even worse when the Nanuet Mall expanded in 1994. The New York State Department of Transportation tried to fix the worsening situation in 1995, when they reconstructed almost 3 miles of Route 59 from the eastern border of Spring Valley to Exit 8 of the Palisades State Parkway. The project widened the road to six lanes, helping to move traffic through the area from Grandview to Middletown Roads in Nanuet.[5] In 1997, the New York State Thruway dropped the Spring Valley toll for all motorists except truckers. This helped reduce traffic on NY 59 between exits 14A and 14B.[5]

Shortly after the traffic problems in Nanuet were reduced, the focus was shifted to West Nyack where the Palisades Center Mall was being constructed. First proposed in the late 1980s, construction finally started in 1995. This caused major delays for motorists when a bridge was constructed from NY 59 to the Palisades Mall south parking lot.[13] To keep this portion of NY 59 from being overloaded with mall goers, Exit 12 of the NY Thruway with NY 303 was re-routed through the Palisades Mall via Palisades Center Drive.[14]

[edit] NY 59A

NY 59A

NY 59A, the only suffixed route of NY 59 to exist to date, started at Route 59 in Nanuet and ended at Route 59 in West Nyack.[15] Route 59A was an original routing of its parent route and was gone by 1962.[3][16]

[edit] Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Rockland Hillburn 0.00 NY 17 to I-87 / Thruway
Suffern 1.65 US 202 west Western terminus of overlap
1.70 US 202 east Eastern terminus of overlap
Monsey 6.23 NY 306
CR 73 (East Saddle River Road)		 Southern terminus of NY 306
Spring Valley 7.60 NY 45 (Main Street)
CR 35A north (New Clarkstown Road) Western terminus of overlap
Nanuet 8.48 CR 35A south (Forman Drive)
I-87 / I-287 / Thruway north		 Eastern terminus of NY 59/CR 35A overlap; exit 14 (I-87/I-287/Thruway)
I-87 / I-287 / Thruway south Exit 14 (I-87/I-287/Thruway)
9.50 CR 33 Middletown Road/Nanuet Mall
West Nyack Road Former western terminus of NY 59A
10.29 NY 304 Modified cloverleaf interchange
West Nyack 10.72 Palisades Interstate Parkway Exits 8W-E (PIP)
West Nyack Road Former eastern terminus of NY 59A
Central Nyack 12.87 NY 303 Interchange
Nyack I-87 / I-287 / Thruway south Exit 11 (I-87/I-287/Thruway)
14.02 To I-87 / I-287 / Thruway north via Polhemus Street Exit 11 (I-87/I-287/Thruway)
14.08 US 9W (Highland Avenue)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Traffic Data Report - NY 55 to I-87 (PDF). NYSDOT (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  2. ^ a b Rand McNally. Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas (northern New Jersey) [map]. (1926) Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
  3. ^ a b c Automobile Blue Book Inc.. Automobile Blue Book (New York City vicinity) [map]. (1929) Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  4. ^ a b c d Google Maps. Overview Map of NY 59 [map]. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  5. ^ a b c Andrea Rubin. "Take the main road from the Hudson to Hillburn (and back)", The Journal News, 2002-10-22. 
  6. ^ a b Lynn Nannariello. Its About Time. Rockland County Government. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  7. ^ State of New York Commission of Highways (1919). The Highway Law. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  8. ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers", New York Times, 1924-12-21, p. XX9. 
  9. ^ Leon A. Dickinson. "New Signs for State Highways", New York Times, 1930-01-12, p. 136. 
  10. ^ Sunoco. New York [map]. Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. (1952)
  11. ^ Esso. New York with Sight-Seeing Guide [map]. Cartography by General Drafting. (1962)
  12. ^ Spring Valley Bypass History @ NYCRoads.com. NYCRoads. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  13. ^ Plan to Build Huge Mall Under Attack in Rockland. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
  14. ^ Exit 12 Re-routed with Construction of Palisades Center. N.W. Perry. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  15. ^ Mark Sinsbaugh. New York Routes - New York State Route 59A. Gribblenation.net. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
  16. ^ Esso. New York with Sight-Seeing Guide [map]. Cartography by General Drafting. (1962)

[edit] External links