New York State Route 203

NYS Route 203
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length: 22.95 mi[2] (36.93 km)
Existed: 1930[1] – present
Major junctions
South end: NY 22 in Austerlitz
North end: US 20 in Nassau
Location
Counties: Columbia, Rensselaer
Highway system

Numbered highways in New York
Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County

← US 202 NY 204 →

New York State Route 203 (NY 203) is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It begins at an intersection with NY 22 in the Columbia County hamlet of Austerlitz and ends at a junction with US 20 in the Rensselaer County village of Nassau. NY 203 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Prior to that time, the section of NY 203 east of Valatie was part of NY 22.

Contents

Route description

NY 203 begins at NY 22 in Austerlitz. A two-lane highway, it heads downhill to the hamlet of Spencertown, then heads northwest to an interchange with the Taconic State Parkway. Shortly thereafter, NY 203 crosses NY 66 in Chatham as Coleman Street. It then heads to Valatie, entering as Chatham Street, using Main Street for two block, then exiting as Mechanic Street. While in Valatie, NY 203 does not directly connect with US 9, linking instead via Main Street. From there, NY 203 heads northward to Niverville and along the east shores of Kinderhook Lake.

North of the lake, NY 203 passes into Rensselaer County upon passing under the Berkshire Spur of the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90). NY 203's segment in Rensselaer County is brief, becoming Chatham Street in the village of Nassau before ending at US 20.

History

In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 1, an unsigned legislative route extending from New York City to Albany along the eastern fringe of New York. Route 1 mostly followed what is now NY 22 from New York City to Austerlitz, where it turned west and continued to Valatie on modern NY 203. The route left NY 203 at Main Street and continued to Albany on current U.S. Route 9.[3][4] When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, most of legislative Route 1 south of NY 23 in Hillsdale became NY 22.[5][6] The remainder of old Route 1 between Hillsdale and Valatie became part of an extended NY 22 in the late 1920s.[6][7]

NY 22 was realigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to continue north from Austerlitz to the Canadian border near Mooers by way of the eastern edge of the state. Most of NY 22's former routing between Valatie and Austerlitz became part of NY 203,[1] a new route extending from Austerlitz to Nassau via Valatie.[8] The short segment of former NY 22 along Main Street in Valatie from Kinderhook Street (US 9) to Chatham Street (NY 203) did not receive a designation and is now NY 980B, an unsigned reference route.[9]

Major intersections

County Location Mile[2] Destinations Notes
Columbia
 Austerlitz 0.00 NY 22
Town of Chatham 6.72 Taconic Parkway Grade-separated interchange
Village of Chatham 8.20 NY 66 (Hudson Avenue)
Valatie To US 9 via Main Street (NY 980B)
Rensselaer
 Village of Nassau 22.95 US 20 (Church Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b Dickinson, Leon A. (January 12, 1930). "New Signs for State Highways". The New York Times: p. 136. 
  2. ^ a b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 185. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT%20TVR%202008%20by%20Route.pdf. Retrieved February 1, 2010. 
  3. ^ State of New York Department of Highways (1909). The Highway Law. Albany, New York: J. B. Lyon Company. p. 53. http://books.google.com/books?id=jZ0AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA53. Retrieved June 24, 2010. 
  4. ^ New York State Department of Highways (1920). Report of the State Commissioner of Highways. Albany, New York: J. B. Lyon Company. pp. 495–496. http://books.google.com/books?id=Sj4CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA495. Retrieved June 24, 2010. 
  5. ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers". The New York Times: p. XX9. December 21, 1924. 
  6. ^ a b State of New York Department of Public Works (1926). Official Map Showing State Highways and other important roads (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. 
  7. ^ Standard Oil Company of New York (1929). New York in Soconyland (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. 
  8. ^ Standard Oil Company of New York (1930). Road Map of New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. 
  9. ^ New York State Department of Transportation (January 2009) (PDF). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/operating/oom/transportation-systems/repository/2009%20tour-bk.pdf. Retrieved June 24, 2010. 

External links