NYS Route 26 | ||||
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Map of New York with NY 26 highlighted in red |
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by NYSDOT, Madison County and the city of Rome | ||||
Length: | 203.80 mi[2] (327.98 km) | |||
Existed: | 1930[1] – present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end: | PA 267 at Vestal | |||
NY 17 in Vestal I-81 in Whitney Point US 20 in Madison NY 49 / NY 69 / NY 365 in Rome NY 12 in Lowville US 11 in Philadelphia |
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North end: | NY 12 in Alexandria Bay | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Broome, Cortland, Chenango, Madison, Lewis, Oneida, Jefferson | |||
Highway system | ||||
Numbered highways in New York
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New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for 203.80 miles (327.98 km) through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the Pennsylvania state line south of the town of Vestal in Broome County, where it becomes Pennsylvania Route 267 (PA 267). Its northern terminus is located at a junction with NY 12 in the village of Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County. NY 26 serves three cities along its routing; one directly (Rome) and two via other roadways (Binghamton via NY 17 and Watertown via NY 3).
NY 26, as a single route, was established in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York; however, portions of the route had been signed state routes since the 1920s. Since 1930, the route has been realigned several times in the North Country, resulting in a modern routing significantly different from its initial alignment.
Contents |
Most of NY 26 is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, two locally-maintained sections exist in Madison County and Oneida County. In Madison County, the route is county-maintained from NY 46 to U.S. Route 20 (US 20), where it overlaps with the unsigned County Route 79 (CR 79). In the Oneida County city of Rome, NY 26 is city-maintained from the north end of its overlap with NY 46 to the northern boundary of the city's inner district.[3][4]
Route 26 begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Vestal as a continuation of PA 267, a thoroughfare in northern Pennsylvania. The road heads northward through Vestal, passing points such as Wildcat Hill (just over the state line), and Pierson Hill, in which Route 26 runs along the base of. As Route 26 heads through Vestal Center, it intersects with several Broome County routes, and passes through some hills.[5]
As Route 26 leaves Vestal, it crosses over Pierce Hill and connects to NY 434 and NY 17 by way of two separate interchanges.[5] Route 26 crosses the Susquehanna River and enters Endicott, where it becomes concurrent with NY 17C. Route 26 turns to the north soon after, ending the concurrency.[6] Route 26 passes through more hills and intersects with several county routes. Just to the north, in Union Center, NY 38B terminates. Route 26 passes through the town of Maine, intersecting with several local roads, and heads northward.[7] Route 26 heads north, connecting to Interstate 81 by way of an interchange.[8]
Route 26 enters Whitney Point and becomes concurrent with US 11.[8] Route 26 enters a mountainous region again after two concurrencies (one with Route 11 and one with NY 79). Route 26 passes to the east of Dorchester Park, which is located on the shores of the Whitney Point Reservoir. Route 26 enters Cortland County and heads along the Otselic River.
In the hamlet of Willet, Route 26 intersects with NY 41, starting a 3-mile (5 km) long concurrency.[9] Route 26 and Route 41 intersect with NY 221 just to the west of Willet. The two roads head north through mountains until a split at 42 miles (68 km). NY 23 terminates at Route 26, which heads north through Cortland County. Route 26 enters the hamlet of Taylor, New York, where it turns to the east then to the northeast into Chenango County.[10] At 60 miles (97 km), CR 16 becomes concurrent for a short distance. The two roads pass Otselic Center, a small hamlet in Chenango County.[11] The concurrency ends, and Route 26 heads northeastward, where it becomes concurrent again, this time with NY 80. During the concurrency, Routes 26 and 80 enter Madison County.
Routes 26 and 80 split in the hamlet of Georgetown.[12] Route 26 heads to the northeast, passing mountains and hills to the right and left. For much of the distance of Route 26 in Madison County, Route 26 intersects with local Madison County routes. Route 26 enters the hamlet of West Eaton and turns to the west towards Oneida County at 72.3 miles (116.4 km). Just south of Bouckville, NY 46 intersects. US 20 becomes concurrent to the east of Bouckville.[13] The concurrency stretches for five miles (8 km), with NY 12B joining at 80.5 miles (129.6 km). Routes 26, 20 and 12B enter the village of Madison and split in two directions. Route 20 heads east and Routes 26/12B head north. Routes 26 and 12B exits Madison County for Oneida county at 85.3 miles (137.3 km).
Routes 12B and 26 enter the village of Oriskany Falls, where Route 26 splits to the northwest while 12B heads northward.[14] Route 26 goes through farmland for several miles before entering Vernon Center, where NY 31 terminates at a traffic circle.[15] About a mile north of Vernon Center, NY 5 intersects. Route 26 passes through more farmland, crossing over the New York State Thruway.[16] Route 26 enters the city of Rome at 103.5 miles (166.6 km) and becomes concurrent with NY 365.[17] The concurrency is short, as Route 26 heads northward through more farmland after 1.8 miles (2.9 km). In downtown Rome, Routes 49 and 69 intersect with Route 26, with NY 46 coming soon after. Route 26 leaves the City of Rome as it stretches towards Lewis County. Route 26 passes to the west of Delta Lake as it heads through Stokes Center.[18]
Route 26 enters Lewis County at 125.5 miles (202.0 km), entering the town of West Leyden.[19] There, NY 294 begins to the east. Route 26 heads through farmlands, coming and passing through the village of Constableville.[20] At 137 miles (220 km), NY 12D intersects and heads north. Route 26 heads to the northwest along the base of the Tug Hill Plateau and passes through several hamlets as well as the village of Turin. At 150.5 miles (242.2 km), NY 12 becomes concurrent. Routes 12 and 26 enter Lowville and intersects with NY 812.[21] Route 12 turns to the west at this intersection, and Route 26 heads north along Route 812. The concurrency is short-lived, and Route 26 heads north towards Watertown. NY 410 terminates at 158.2 miles (254.6 km) in Denmark. Shortly after the intersection with CR 55, Route 26 leaves Lewis County for Jefferson County.[22]
Route 26 enters West Carthage and becomes concurrent with NY 126.[23] Route 126 turns to the west at 166.4 miles (267.8 km), and Route 26 leaves West Carthage for more farmland. NY 3 intersects 4 miles (6 km) north of West Carthage in the town of Great Bend. Route 26 passes through the Fort Drum Military Reservation and intersects with CR 37. Route 26 leaves the reservation and becomes concurrent with US 11 in Le Ray. Routes 26 and 11 pass through more farmland and rural areas until reaching the village of Philadelphia, where the two roads split.[24] Route 26 continues through rural land and enters the village of Theresa at 190 miles (306 km). There, Route 26 becomes concurrent with NY 37 for three miles (5 km). Route 26 heads to the northeast, through the final stretch of farmland, coming to an end at Route 12 (Seaway Trail) in Alexandria Bay.[25]
In 1908, the New York State Legislature created a statewide system of unsigned legislative routes. One route created at this time was Route 27, which began in Forestport and followed what is now NY 12, NY 12D, and NY 26 north through Boonville and Lowville to West Carthage. At this point, Route 27 proceeded northeast to Carthage on modern NY 126 and west to Watertown on current NY 3. It continued generally northward from Watertown to a terminus in Alexandria Bay.[26][27] In 1910, the legislature established Route 30-a, a connector between Route 27 in Carthage and Route 30 (now US 11) in Antwerp via current NY 3 and the U.S. Military Highway through Fort Drum.[27] On March 1, 1921, Route 30-a was redesignated as Route 49 while Route 27 was extended northeast to Ogdensburg along what is now NY 26, CR 192, and NY 37.[28]
When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, the segment of legislative Route 27 between Alexandria Bay and Ogdensburg became part of NY 3 while the portion of Route 27 from Foresport to Lowville was included in NY 12.[29][30] By 1926, the Lowville–Carthage section of legislative Route 27 and all of Route 49 was designated as part of NY 48, which continued west from Antwerp to NY 3 in Alexandria on what is now CR 193, CR 194 and NY 26. Also created by 1926 was NY 46, which began in Oriskany Falls and went north to Rome on modern NY 26. Past Rome, NY 46 followed its current alignment to Boonville.[30] The portion of what is now NY 26 south of US 20 was unnumbered prior to 1930.[31]
Modern NY 26 was established as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.[1] It began at the Pennsylvania state line south of Endicott[32] and went north to Carthage over its modern alignment. From Oriskany Falls to Rome, it replaced NY 46,[1] which was moved onto a new alignment to the west that passed through the city of Oneida.[32] NY 26 continued north to Turin via a previously unnumbered road and overlapped with NY 12 from there to Lowville. Past Lowville, NY 26 progressed northward through Carthage, Antwerp and Theresa to Alexandria Bay, replacing all of NY 48 and part of NY 3, which was realigned to follow its modern alignment east of Watertown as part of the renumbering.[1] Also assigned as part of the renumbering was NY 411, a connector highway between NY 26 near Theresa and US 11 in Philadelphia.[32]
NY 26 was realigned in the mid-1950s to bypass Fort Drum to the west. The route now overlapped NY 3 northwest and west from Carthage to Black River, where it turned northwest to follow a surface road known as the Watertown Bypass to Calcium. NY 26 joined US 11 at a junction north of Calcium and followed it northwest to Antwerp, where it joined its previous alignment.[33][34] The state of New York assumed ownership and maintenance of the bypass in 1960,[35] at which time it was designated as NY 181.[36] The easternmost section of the highway was realigned ca. 1963 to bypass Black River to the west. It separated from NY 3 west of Black River and followed the Black River north to Pearl Street, where it met its old routing. NY 181, which NY 26 overlapped between Calcium and Black River, was renumbered to NY 342 around this time.[36][37]
NY 26 was truncated in the mid-1970s to end at NY 3 and NY 26A in Carthage. The former routing of NY 26 from Antwerp to Alexandria Bay was then redesignated as NY 283.[38][39] On August 1, 1979, ownership and maintenance of the portions of NY 283 from US 11 in Antwerp to NY 411 in Theresa and from LaFargeville Road in Theresa to NY 37 west of the village were transferred from the state of New York to Jefferson County as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government. As part of the swap, maintenance of LaFargeville Road from NY 37 to NY 283 and of Broad and Martin Streets, Great Bend and Fort Drum Roads between West Carthage and Evans Mills were transferred from the county to the state.[40]
Following the swap, NY 26 was rerouted to follow the new state highway between West Carthage and Evans Mills. It then overlapped US 11 to Philadelphia, where it continued to Theresa on former NY 411. It exited Theresa on LaFargeville Road, then followed NY 37 north to Wilson Road, where it rejoined its pre-1970s alignment and continued to Alexandria Bay.[41] The former routing of NY 26 between Fort Drum and Theresa via Antwerp (and thus the former alignment of NY 283 between Antwerp and Theresa) became CR 194 while the former part of NY 26 and NY 283 west of Theresa became CR 193.[42][43]
County | Location | Mile[2] | Destinations | Notes |
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Broome |
Vestal | 0.00 | PA 267 | Continuation into Pennsylvania |
6.75 | NY 434 | |||
6.96 | NY 17 | Exit 67 (NY 17) | ||
Endicott | 7.70 | NY 17C east | Eastern terminus of NY 17C / NY 26 overlap | |
8.94 | NY 17C west | Western terminus of NY 17C / NY 26 overlap | ||
Maine | 13.28 | NY 38B | Hamlet of Union Center; eastern terminus of NY 38B | |
Barker | 27.72 | I-81 | Exit 8 (I-81) | |
Whitney Point | 28.03 | US 11 south | Southern terminus of US 11 / NY 26 overlap | |
28.12 | US 11 north / NY 79 west | Northern terminus of US 11 / NY 26 overlap; western terminus of NY 26 / NY 79 overlap | ||
28.20 | NY 79 east / NY 206 | Eastern terminus of NY 26 / NY 79 overlap; western terminus of NY 206 | ||
Cortland |
Willet | 38.76 | NY 41 south | Southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 41 overlap |
39.34 | NY 221 | Eastern terminus of NY 221 | ||
Cincinnatus | 42.59 | NY 41 north | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 41 overlap | |
43.90 | NY 23 | Western terminus of NY 23 | ||
Chenango |
Otselic | 61.53 | NY 80 east | Southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 80 overlap |
Madison |
Georgetown | 65.11 | NY 80 west | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 80 overlap |
Town of Madison | 78.34 | NY 46 | ||
78.86 | US 20 west | Western terminus of US 20 / NY 26 overlap | ||
80.51 | NY 12B south | Western terminus of NY 12B / NY 26 overlap | ||
83.51 | US 20 east | Eastern terminus of US 20 / NY 26 overlap | ||
Oneida |
Oriskany Falls | 86.06 | NY 12B north | Eastern terminus of NY 12B / NY 26 overlap |
Town of Vernon | 95.26 | NY 31 | Eastern terminus of NY 31; to I-90 / Thruway | |
96.65 | NY 5 | |||
Rome | 104.95 | NY 365 west | Western terminus of NY 26 / NY 365 overlap | |
106.75 | NY 365 east | Western terminus of NY 26 / NY 365 overlap; interchange | ||
107.15 | NY 49 east / NY 69 east | Southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 49 / NY 69 overlap; interchange | ||
108.21 | NY 46 south / NY 49 west / NY 69 west | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 49 / NY 69 overlap; southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 46 overlap | ||
108.80 | NY 46 north | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 46 overlap | ||
Lewis |
Lewis | 126.35 | NY 294 | Hamlet of West Leyden; western terminus of NY 294 |
West Turin | 137.24 | NY 12D | ||
Village of Lowville | 150.77 | NY 12 south | Southern terminus of NY 12 / NY 26 overlap | |
151.35 | NY 12 south / NY 812 | Northern terminus of NY 12 / NY 26 overlap; southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 812 overlap; southern terminus of NY 812 | ||
151.72 | NY 812 north | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 812 overlap | ||
Denmark | 158.18 | NY 410 | ||
Jefferson |
West Carthage | 165.66 | NY 126 east | Eastern terminus of NY 26 / NY 126 overlap |
166.44 | NY 126 west | Western terminus of NY 26 / NY 126 overlap | ||
Great Bend | 172.51 | NY 3 | ||
Town of Philadelphia | 177.82 | US 11 south | Southern terminus of US 11 / NY 26 overlap | |
Village of Philadelphia | 184.87 | US 11 north | Northern terminus of US 11 / NY 26 overlap | |
Village of Theresa | CR 46 (Commercial Street) | Former eastern terminus of NY 37D | ||
Town of Theresa | 192.88 | NY 37 south / NY 411 | Eastern terminus of NY 411; southern terminus of NY 26 / NY 37 overlap | |
195.48 | NY 37 north | Northern terminus of NY 26 / NY 37 overlap | ||
Alexandria | 200.13 | CR 192 | Former western terminus of NY 26B | |
Alexandria Bay | 203.80 | NY 12 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |