Interstate 190 (New York)

Interstate 190
Niagara Thruway
Map of western New York with I-190 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSTA, NYSDOT and the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
Length:	28.34 mi[1] (45.61 km)
Existed:	1959[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-90 / New York Thruway in Cheektowaga
	QEW via Peace Bridge in Buffalo I-290 in Tonawanda
North end:	Highway 405 at the Canada–US border in Lewiston
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New York Highways Interstate U.S. State Reference Parkways ← NY 189 NY 190 → ← NY 90 NY 91 →

Interstate 190 (I-190, locally known as The One-Ninety) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that connects I-90 in Buffalo, New York with the Canada-U.S. border near Niagara Falls. The freeway bisects downtown Buffalo before crossing Grand Island and travelling around the outskirts of Niagara Falls before crossing the Niagara River on the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge into Ontario. On the Canadian side of the border, the freeway continues as Highway 405, a short spur that connects with the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), which in turn provides a freeway connection to Toronto, Canada's largest city. The 28.34-mile-long (45.61 km) route also provides access to the QEW at the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario.

Officially, I-190 from I-90 north to New York State Route 384 (NY 384) is named the Niagara Thruway and is part of the New York State Thruway system. The remainder, from NY 384 to Lewiston, is known as the Niagara Expressway and is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation. I-190 is the only three-digit Interstate Highway to reach the Canada–US border, and one of only two to connect to an international border, the other being Interstate 110 in Texas.

Parts of the highway were built along the former rights-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Erie Canal. The entire route was built as part of the New York State Thruway in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was completed in 1964. In 2006, the tolls along the freeway were removed, although the Grand Island ones remain in place.

Route description

I-190 approaching exit 11 in Buffalo

I-190 begins at an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90) in Cheektowaga in Erie County, just north of the West Seneca town line and east of the Buffalo city line. I-190 heads west into Buffalo, passing the former location of the City Line toll barrier ahead of an interchange with South Ogden Street (exit 1). Farther west, I-190 meets NY 354 (exit 2), NY 16 (exit 3), and several local streets before entering downtown Buffalo. Within the downtown area, I-190 passes between KeyBank Center and Coca-Cola Field near an interchange with NY 5 (exit 7) on the shores of Lake Erie. At NY 5, I-190 turns northward to follow the path of the Niagara River. Shortly after meeting NY 266 (exit 8) immediately northwest of downtown, I-190 interchanges with Porter Avenue (exit 9), a local roadway connecting I-190 to the Peace Bridge and, thus, the Queen Elizabeth Way in Canada.^[3]

North of downtown Buffalo, I-190 follows the eastern edge of the Black Rock Canal (and passes the site of the former Black Rock toll barrier) before rejoining the banks of the Niagara near an exit with the Scajaquada Expressway (NY 198, exit 11). I-190 continues north through the northern extents of Buffalo, meeting multiple streets before separating from the Niagara and interchanging with NY 266 and NY 324 (exits 15 and 16) in quick succession. At exit 16, NY 324 joins I-190 northward through western Tonawanda. The two routes then meet I-290 and NY 266 a second time prior to crossing the Niagara River on the South Grand Island Bridge. NY 324 leaves the expressway shortly after arriving on Grand Island at exit 18.^[3]

Helvetica signage for exit 18A on I-190

I-190 and NY 324 follow parallel routings across Grand Island, with both roads passing on opposite sides of Fantasy Island, a local amusement park, near the center of the island. At the northern edge of the island, NY 324, as signed, terminates at exit 20; however, officially, NY 324 rejoins I-190 across the Niagara River once again via the North Grand Island Bridge. Now in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY 324 ends at a complex interchange featuring NY 384, the Niagara Scenic Parkway, and the LaSalle Expressway on the eastern bank of the river. Farther north, I-190 meets U.S. Route 62 (US 62) at exit 22 and NY 182 at exit 23.^[3]

Past NY 182, I-190 turns to the northwest, skirting the northeastern edge of Niagara Falls and roughly paralleling NY 265 to the east. In Lewiston, the expressway meets NY 31 at exit 24 southwest of the large Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant reservoir. I-190 continues onward, crossing the canal between the reservoir and the power plant on a small dam also used by NY 265. The freeway then interchanges with NY 265, the Niagara Scenic Parkway, and NY 104 at the expansive exit 25 before curving to the west and terminating at the approach to the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge. Across the bridge in Queenston, Ontario, the roadway becomes Highway 405.^[3]

History

The portion of modern I-190 south of NY 384 in Niagara Falls was originally built by the New York State Thruway Authority as part of the New York State Thruway system. Construction on two segments of the highway—from South Ogden Street to Porter Avenue in downtown Buffalo and from Beaver Island Parkway to West River Road on Grand Island—began in 1953.^[5] On Grand Island, construction began to connect the two existing two lane bridges on July 16, 1954.^[6] By 1955, construction had begun on the remainder of the Niagara Thruway.^[7] On July 30, 1959, the Thruway was opened from the Tri-Level Interchange at I-90 to Porter Avenue, and from Sheridan Drive to the southern Grand Island bridge.^[8] The remainder of the highway, with the exception of the twinned Grand Island bridges, was completed by 1964.^[9]

On August 14, 1957, the routing of what is now I-190 (including the then-partially complete Niagara Thruway) was originally designated as I-90N, as intercity routes were assigned before three-digit Interstate numbers were applied to the shorter intracity routes.^[4] I-90N was renumbered to I-190 on February 24, 1959.^[2] Construction on the portion of I-190 north of NY 384 began c. 1962^[10][11] and was completed by 1964.^[12]

In 1991, maintenance of I-84 in downstate New York was transferred from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA). The monies for that purpose came from tolls levied on I-190 in downtown Buffalo.^[13] Under the laws authorizing the Thruway construction, the tolls were to be removed once the original bonds used to pay for the construction were paid off, which occurred in 1996; however, the tolls would remain for ten more years. Attorney Carl Paladino brought a lawsuit against the state in 2006 to force the removal of the tolls.^[14] On October 30, 2006, the Thruway Authority voted to both begin the process of returning maintenance of I-84 to NYSDOT and to remove the tolls on I-190 in Buffalo. Collection of the tolls stopped that day.^[15] Both major candidates in the 2006 New York gubernatorial election, Democrat Eliot Spitzer and Republican John Faso, had pledged to remove the tolls on I-190 if elected.^[16] While the toll barriers in Buffalo have since been demolished, the tolls further north on the two Grand Island bridges still remain.^[17][18]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[19]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Erie	Cheektowaga	0.00	0.00		I-90 / New York Thruway – Albany, Erie	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus; I-90 exit 53
	Buffalo	0.70	1.13	1	South Ogden Street
		1.56	2.51	2	NY 354 (Clinton Street) to US 62 (Bailey Avenue)
		2.22	3.57	3	NY 16 (Seneca Street)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		3.14	5.05	4	Smith Street / Fillmore Avenue
		3.79	6.10	5	Hamburg Street	Northbound exit and entrance
		4.13	6.65	5	Louisiana Street	Southbound exit and entrance
		4.99	8.03	6	Elm Street
		5.10	8.21	7	NY 5 west (Skyway) – Lackawanna	No northbound exit
		5.20	8.37	7	Church Street	No southbound exit
		5.86	9.43	8	NY 266 (Niagara Street)
		6.58	10.59	9	Porter Avenue – Peace Bridge, Fort Erie, Canada	To Queen Elizabeth Way and Ontario Highway 3
		7.78	12.52	10	West Ferry Street	Exit was part of the original design but never constructed
		8.69	13.99	11	NY 198 (Scajaquada Expressway)	Western terminus of NY 198
		9.18	14.77	12	Amherst Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		9.44	15.19	13	Austin Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		9.88	15.90	14	Ontario Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		10.50	16.90	14	Vulcan Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Town of Tonawanda	12.36	19.89	15	NY 324 (Sheridan Drive)/ Kenmore Avenue	NY 324 joins northbound and leaves southbound; northbound access via NY 325
		13.33	21.45	16	I-290 east to I-90 / New York Thruway – Rochester, Tonawanda
		14.20	22.85	17	NY 266 (River Road) – North Tonawanda, Tonawanda	North Tonawanda and Tonawanda shown as "Tonawandas" on guide signs
		14.26	22.95	Tonawanda toll barrier ($1 cash or 95¢ E-ZPass northbound)
	Niagara River			South Grand Island Bridge
	Grand Island	15.35	24.70	18A	NY 324 west (Grand Island Boulevard)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; NY 324 leaves northbound and joins southbound
		15.46	24.88	18B	Beaver Island State Park	Exit 18 southbound
		17.27	27.79	19	Whitehaven Road
		19.32	31.09	20B	NY 324 east (Grand Island Boulevard) / Long Road	Exit 20 northbound; NY 324 joins northbound and leaves southbound
		19.69	31.69	20A	West River Parkway	No northbound exit
		20.22	32.54	Niagara Falls toll barrier ($1 cash or 95¢ E-ZPass southbound)
Niagara River				North Grand Island Bridge
Niagara	Niagara Falls	21.10– 21.20	33.96– 34.12	21	NY 384 (Buffalo Avenue) / Niagara Scenic Parkway – Niagara Falls	NY 324 terminates northbound and joins I-190 southbound
		21.24	34.18	Begin Niagara Expressway (NYSDOT maintenance) northbound; begin Niagara Thruway (NYSTA maintenance) southbound
				21A	LaSalle Expressway east – North Tonawanda, Tonawanda	North Tonawanda and Tonawanda shown as "Tonawandas" on guide signs
		22.08	35.53	22	US 62 (Niagara Falls Boulevard) – Airport
	Niagara	23.74	38.21	23	NY 182 (Packard Road/Porter Road)
		25.87	41.63	24	NY 31 (Witmer Road)
	Town of Lewiston	27.72	44.61	25A	NY 265 – Lewiston	No southbound exit
		27.72	44.61	25B	NY 104 / Niagara Scenic Parkway – Lewiston	Last exit before Canada northbound, first exit after clearing CBP checkpoint southbound; also used by CBP staff to entering checkpoint staff parking via Upper Mountain Road
	Niagara River	28.34	45.61		Highway 405 – Canada	Lewiston–Queenston Bridge (Canada–United States border); northern terminus; continuation into Ontario
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• LaSalle Expressway
• Robert Moses State Parkway

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 190 (New York).

• Interstate 190 at Alps' Roads • New York Routes • Upstate New York Roads