| NYS Route 55 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Map of southeastern New York with NY 55 highlighted in red |
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NYSDOT, NYSBA, Sullivan County, and the village of Liberty | ||||
| Length: | 122.45 mi[3] (197.06 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1930[1][2] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | NY 97 / PA 434 in Highland | |||
| NY 17 in Liberty US 209 / US 44 in Wawarsing US 9W in Lloyd US 9 in Poughkeepsie Taconic Parkway in La Grange NY 22 in Pawling |
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| East end: | Route 55 at Dover | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Numbered highways in New York
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New York State Route 55 (NY 55) is a state highway in southern New York, running from the Pennsylvania state line at the Delaware River in Barryville to the Connecticut state line at Wingdale. It is the only other state highway beside NY 7 to completely cross the state, from border to border, in an east–west direction, although NY 17 does so and is partially east–west. It also forms a concurrency when it joins US 44 for 33 miles (53 km).
Together with NY 52, which it closely parallels and briefly joins in downtown Liberty, it forms the latitudinal backbone of the Hudson Valley region for non-interstate traffic. It offers the traveler a wide variety of landscapes, from farmlands, mountains and forests to the urban center of Poughkeepsie. Sights along the way include two of New York City's major reservoirs in the Catskills, a dramatic crossing of the Shawangunk Ridge, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
Contents |
NY 55 begins adjacent to the Delaware River at an intersection with the river-paralleling NY 97 in the hamlet of Barryville. However, the right-of-way of NY 55 continues southwest of the junction on the Barryville–Shohola Bridge over the Delaware Bridge to the Pennsylvania state line, where it connects to Pennsylvania Route 434 in Shohola. From Barryville, it heads mostly due north, despite its east–west signage, through Sullivan County's heavily wooded southwest corner. Much of NY 55 within the county is county-maintained; as such, it overlaps with and is co-signed with several county routes as it proceeds northeastward. Some NY 55 shields through this stretch were posted by the county and have a small "NY" visible atop the shields, designed after an older state standard.
After passing Toronto Reservoir, which serves local communities, it finally reaches its next junction NY 17B, at White Lake, more than 15 miles (24 km) from its start. NY 55 joins NY 17B eastward for 0.8 miles (1.3 km) around the south end of the lake before returning to its northerly bearing. Once past the lake, it begins to trend more to the northeast, taking it past the Sullivan County International Airport and through another quiet vacation hamlet, Swan Lake and finally to the village of Liberty after 11 miles (18 km). Here, it joins NY 52 for two blocks prior to leaving town oriented more directly east and exchanging places with NY 52 as the northern regional trunk route. Access to NY 17, the future Interstate 86, was until recently provided via either 52 or another nearby street. In 2000 a limited exit, 100A, was constructed near a state police barracks to provide direct access from 55 to 17 eastbound. The NY 52 eastern junction in Liberty was rebuilt as a roundabout in 2007.
NY 55 overlaps no less than five different county routes between NY 97 and Liberty. The first, County Route 11 (CR 11), follows NY 55 from its western terminus at NY 97 to CR 32 (Proctor Road) and CR 33 (Eldred–Yulan Road). At this point, CR 11 gives way to CR 12, which runs north on NY 55 to CR 26 (Crystal Lake Road). The designation shifts here to CR 13, which takes up the section of NY 55 from CR 26 to the west end of the NY 17B overlap, which is state-maintained. When NY 55 leaves NY 17B, it becomes conjoined with CR 14, NY 55's county designation to CR 74 (West Mongaup Road) in Swan Lake. The last section of NY 55 between CR 74 and the Liberty village line is co-designated as CR 15. Each county route has an associated road name; they are Brook Road, Board Road, White Lake Road, Swan Lake Road, and Liberty Road, respectively.
Beyond Liberty, NY 55 enters a less populous region of the county. The route, known as Neversink Road and co-designated as CR 16, climbs toward Neversink Reservoir. At Aden Road, CR 16 ends and NY 55 becomes state-maintained once again as it proceeds to the reservoir, where it becomes the only state highway to run across the top of a New York City watershed dam. Descending from this, NY 55 meets Wilson Shields Road, where county maintenance returns in the form of CR 17. Both NY 55 and CR 17 cross the Blue Line into Catskill Park, where maintenance of the route changes for one final time in Sullivan County at Wagners Road. Here, CR 17 terminates and NY 55 progresses onward as a state-maintained highway.
Shortly after this point, CR 19 intersects from the north. This route was once the middle segment of NY 42, and indeed reassurance shields for NY 42 can be seen along NY 55 immediately following the junction. Additionally, its reference markers displace those of NY 55 alongside the road. In the next settlement of consequence, the hamlet of Grahamsville, 13 miles (21 km) east of Liberty, the current southern segment of NY 42 intersects from the south and the signage returns to NY 55.
Immediately upon taking leave of Grahamsville and passing through the Grahamsville Historic District, then by Tri-Valley Central School, the road drops slightly and Rondout Reservoir recedes into the distance ahead. NY 55A splits off to follow the northern shore, while 55 remains along the south side, crossing into Ulster County. Over the next 9 miles (14.4 km) until 55A rejoins, there are many beautiful views of the reservoir available from alongside the road.
Shortly after Merriman Dam at Rondout's east end, the two roads descend and rejoin near the southern tip of Catskill Park. 55 slowly descends and bends to a more southeasterly route as it winds 5 miles (9 km) alongside Rondout Creek to the hamlet of Napanoch, where it joins US 209 in its due northeast course up the Rondout Valley.
At the Valero-branded station just south of Kerhonkson, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Napanoch, NY 55 turns eastward once again, as US 44 begins. The two highways, which will remain joined for long enough that they are known locally by both numbers, immediately begin a gentle climb into the Shawangunks (known colloquially as the "Gunks"), crossing the aqua blazes of the Long Path hiking trail as they do so.
Two miles further on, a wide open section bordered by just a stone wall on one side offers a sweeping panorama to the northwest, taking in much of the Catskills. Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the range, can be seen amid the lower peaks around it, and more to the north the Devil's Path in Greene County is visible in all its splendor. This section takes up an entire mile, with parking areas available at either end for those drivers who wish to stop and take it in.
The highway continues on through the scrubby forests and rock outcrops that characterize the northern Shawangunks. A mile of winding past trailheads and woods brings on the main entrance to the first of two highly popular recreation spots in this area, Minnewaska State Park Preserve, which features many miles of hiking trails, picnic grounds and a popular glacial lake. The forests alongside the highway grow a bit taller as it passes several scenic waterfalls, where cars often defy local parking regulations so their occupants can stop and look, as it descends to reach the parking areas for the Mohonk Preserve roughly another mile past Minnewaska.
Here, at the eastern edge of the Gunks, are located the white cliffs that have long attracted climbers to Mohonk, and many of them are likely to be parked here on good days. Another parking area allows views of not only these cliffs but the sprawling central Hudson Valley below.
Immediately afterward the road bends and descends somewhat steeply into an extremely tight hairpin turn, where the posted speed limit drops to 5 miles (10 km) per hour. So notorious is this turn local lore has it (falsely) that it was the site of Bob Dylan's serious 1966 motorcycle accident.
Just below the turn, past the Mohonk Preserve Visitors' Center, NY 299 departs eastward, towards New Paltz. US 44/NY 55 continues southward, gradually returning to its eastward heading as it drops, crossing the Wallkill River, passing through quaint Gardiner and intersecting scenic NY 208 a mile east of the hamlet at a junction known as Ireland Corners.
Past 208 the road begins to wend and weave through the farms and orchards devoted to apples in this region of the county, crossing under the New York State Thruway between the hamlets of Modena and Ardonia. No direct crossing is available, however access is available farther east via NY 299. Modena, 6 miles (10 km) from Gardiner, is marked by a traffic light at the intersection with NY 32, the major north–south state highway west of the Hudson.
East of Modena, through Clintondale, the road begins to climb once again into the glacial ridge separating this area from the river. At the notch 44–55 passes through, sweeping views are once again possible in good weather over the orchards ahead. A short descent and two more miles brings the highway to Highland, the small unincorporated community across from Poughkeepsie. Just past it, 44–55 makes a tricky turn to join US 9W southbound. A mile-long concurrency past gas stations and fast-food restaurants ends at an overhead ramp to the Mid-Hudson Bridge's toll plazas.
The road then descends again and bends southward to the bridge approach through a deep rock cut. As it once again heads eastward to cross the river, the Poughkeepsie skyline sprawls ahead. Immediately upon entry into the city, offramps lead to the US 9 freeway along the river's edge, and the nearby train station.
In the city, where 44–55 forms the main arterial, the routes divide, with one street carrying eastbound traffic and the other westbound. They run sometimes as much as two blocks apart, with what was for many years the city's attempt at a pedestrian mall (known as the Main Mall) between them. Only in Poughkeepsie's eastern end, shortly after the NY 376 junction near Vassar College, does two-way traffic return. Shortly afterwards, 44 and 55 part ways after over 30 miles (48 km).
Prior to the construction of Poughkeepsie's east–west arterial in the 1970s, 44 and 55 went on Church Street from the bridge to its intersection with Main Street, then on Main Street eastward to the outskirts of the city, where it forked into the two separate routes.
From the split, NY 55 heads at first east, through LaGrange and its interchange with the Taconic State Parkway just east of Arlington High School. It continues virtually due east to NY 82 at Billings, where it begins taking a more southeasterly tack.
This takes it to the eastern terminus of NY 216 at Poughquag, then up into the hills of the Town of Beekman, where the Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses the road and NY 292 comes to its northern end. Descending once again into the Harlem Valley, 55 reaches NY 22 just south of Pawling.
Instead of ending at this major north–south route, 55 joins it, heading north for 7 miles (11 km) and crossing the AT once again near the Metro-North flag stop. At Webutuck, it leaves to the east, winding its way to the Connecticut state line after 3 miles (5 km). It becomes CT 55, which continues another 2.6 miles (4 km) to its own eastern terminus at US 7.
The portion of modern NY 55 in Ulster County from the intersection with County Route 7 west of Gardiner to U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) follows the Farmers' Turnpike, which was built by the Farmer's Turnpike & Bridge Company, a private company established in March 1808. Its purpose was to allow the transport of agricultural products from the Gardiner area to docks on the Hudson River at Milton. The route at that time followed the north end of Albany Post Road (County Route 9) over the Shawangunk Kill and then east along the kill's south bank to ford the Wallkill River just south of the confluence. The turnpike company eventually went bankrupt.[4]
In the early 1910s, the state of New York improved the former turnpike to state highway standards at a cost of just over $172,868 (equivalent to $3.83 million in 2012). The section from the Plattekill–Lloyd town line north of Ardonia to what is now US 9W was added to the state highway system on September 9, 1911, as State Highway 350 (SH 350) while the portion from modern CR 7 to the west end of SH 350 was accepted into the state highway system on October 20, 1913, as SH 351. Both designations were assigned by the New York State Legislature for inventory purposes and were unsigned.[5][6]
In 1908, the legislature created a statewide system of unsigned legislative routes. No designation was assigned to most of the modern NY 55 corridor; however, the section of highway that NY 55 now shares with NY 22 from Pawling to Wingdale was designated as part of Route 1, a route extending from New York City to Albany.[5][7] On March 1, 1921, the segment of NY 55 that overlaps with US 209 in Wawarsing was included in Route 40, a new route that generally followed the modern US 209 corridor between Port Jervis and Kingston.[5][8]
When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, much of legislative Route 1—including from Pawling to Wingdale—was designated as part of NY 22.[9] By 1926, all of legislative Route 40 was designated as NY 50 while a small portion of modern NY 55 between what is now NY 216 and NY 292 near Poughquag was signed as part of NY 39.[10] NY 50 became part of US 6 in 1927. Over the next eight years, the highway went through several designations, becoming US 6N in 1928, NY 279 in 1933[11][12] and US 209 ca. 1935.[13][14]
NY 39 was reassigned to another highway in western New York in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.[15] At the same time, NY 55 was assigned to much of its current alignment between Barryville and Pawling, utilizing the old Farmers' Turnpike in eastern Ulster County and a series of previously unnumbered roads in Sullivan, western Ulster, and Dutchess Counties. From Poughquag to West Pawling, NY 55 overlapped with NY 52, which replaced NY 39 east of East Fishkill. Initially, NY 55 continued east from Pawling to the Connecticut state line at Sherman via Quaker Hill and Kirby Hill Roads.[1][2]
In the early 1930s, the modern routing of NY 55 between Wingdale and the Connecticut border was designated as NY 341.[16][17] The alignments of NY 55 and NY 341 east of NY 22 were flipped ca. 1934, placing NY 55 on its current alignment and NY 341 on NY 55's old routing. NY 55 reached Wingdale by way of a 7-mile (11 km) overlap with NY 22.[17][18] When NY 55 was first assigned, it was routed along the northern bank of Rondout Creek between the hamlets of Grahamsville and Lackawack.[2] In the mid-1940s, NY 55 was realigned to follow a new highway along the southern bank while its former routing to the north became NY 55A.[19][20] Both changes were made in order to accommodate the Rondout Reservoir, which was created ca. 1950 following the construction of the Merriman Dam.[21][22]
NY 55A (9.52 miles or 15.32 kilometres) is an alternate route of NY 55 along the north side of the Rondout Reservoir between Grahamsville and Napanoch.[3] It was assigned in the mid-1940s.[19][20]
| County | Location | Mile[3] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan |
Highland | 0.00 | NY 97 / PA 434 / CR 11 | Hamlet of Barryville; northern terminus of PA 434 (at state line) |
| Bethel | 15.19 | NY 17B west | Western terminus of NY 17B / NY 55 overlap | |
| 15.87 | NY 17B east | Hamlet of White Lake; eastern terminus of NY 17B / NY 55 overlap | ||
| Village of Liberty | 26.45 | NY 52 west | Western terminus of NY 52 / NY 55 overlap | |
| 26.67 | NY 52 east | Eastern terminus of NY 52 / NY 55 overlap | ||
| NY 17 east | Exit 100A (NY 17) | |||
| Neversink | 39.61 | NY 42 | Hamlet of Grahamsville; northern terminus of NY 42 | |
| 40.25 | NY 55A | Western terminus of NY 55A | ||
| Ulster |
Wawarsing | 48.75 | NY 55A | Eastern terminus of NY 55A |
| 54.06 | US 209 south | Hamlet of Napanoch; southern terminus of US 209 / NY 55 overlap | ||
| 58.44 | US 209 north / US 44 | Northern terminus of US 209 / NY 55 overlap; western terminus of US 44 / NY 55 overlap; western terminus of US 44 | ||
| Mohonk Preserve | 68.86 | NY 299 | Western terminus of NY 299 | |
| Town of Gardiner | 74.74 | NY 208 | ||
| Plattekill | 76.20 | NY 32 | Hamlet of Modena | |
| Lloyd | 86.12 | US 9W north | Hamlet of Highland; northern terminus of US 9W / NY 55 overlap | |
| 86.68 | US 9W south | Southern terminus of US 9W / NY 55 overlap | ||
| Dutchess |
City of Poughkeepsie | 88.93 | US 9 | |
| 90.49 | NY 115 | Southern terminus of NY 115 | ||
| Town of Poughkeepsie | 90.90 | NY 376 | Northern terminus of NY 376 | |
| 91.16 | US 44 east | Eastern terminus of US 44 / NY 55 overlap | ||
| La Grange | 97.41 | Taconic Parkway | ||
| 98.72 | NY 82 | |||
| Beekman | 105.51 | NY 216 | Hamlet of Poughquag; eastern terminus of NY 216 | |
| Town of Pawling | 107.17 | NY 292 | Hamlet of West Pawling; northern terminus of NY 292 | |
| 112.30 | NY 22 south | Southern terminus of NY 22 / NY 55 overlap | ||
| Dover | 119.18 | NY 22 north | Hamlet of Wingdale; northern terminus of NY 22 / NY 55 overlap | |
| 122.45 | Route 55 | Continuation into Connecticut | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||