 New York State Route 218 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Orange County in southeastern New York with NY 218 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOT | ||||
| Length | 10.81 mi[1] (17.40 km) | |||
| Existed | August 1941[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |    US 9W /US 6 Truck inHighland Falls | |||
| North end | US 9W nearCornwall-on-Hudson | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Orange | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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New York State Route 218 (NY 218) is astate highway located withinOrange County, New York, in theUnited States. It loops offU.S. Route 9W to run closer to theHudson River betweenHighland Falls andCornwall-on-Hudson. North of Highland Falls, it is brieflyconcurrent with US 9W.
NY 218 sees much traffic despite its short length. Not only does it bring most of theUnited States Military Academy's traffic to Thayer Gate, its main entrance, it attracts many who drive it just for the sake of its most renowned portion: the cliffside drive alongsideStorm King Mountain. In good weather during the summer months, many cars can be seen taking in the views of the river and theHudson Highlands here (however, this section can be gated off and closed in times of highrockslide danger).
NY 218 begins at atrumpet interchange with flyover ramps withUS 9W in the village ofHighland Falls near the former site ofFort Montgomery. NY 218 proceeds northeast through the village as a two-lane village street, turning northward at an intersection with Old State Road. NY 218 proceeds north, crossing a large residential section of Highland Falls bending northeast then north before intersecting with West Point Highway (unsigned NY 980W). A short distance to the north in Highland Falls, NY 218 bends west on an intersection with Mill Street and Mountain Avenue, where NY 218 turns west on Mountain Avenue, a two-lane commercial/residential street through Highland Falls. Passing west of Highland Falls Intermediate School, the route bends northward around a small section of theUnited States Military Academy at West Point.[3]
NY 218 winds through Highland Falls, leaving the downtown section of the village, entering an interchange with US 9W and Stony Lonesome Road. Stony Lonesome Road connects US 9W and NY 218 to West Point's Stony Lonesome Gate, while NY 218 merges with US 9W northbound, forming a concurrency. Now in the town ofHighlands, NY 218 and US 9W wind northwest as a four-laneexpressway through the West Point Golf Course, where NY 218 forks off at an interchange that also doubles as the northern terminus ofNY 293. Now on the right-of-way ceded from NY 293, NY 218 parallels US 9W as a two-lane surface road running along the northwestern side of the golf course. After the golf course, the route intersects with Washington Road. Washington Road connects NY 218 to West Point via Washington Gate, while NY 218 proceeds north through Highlands.[3]
NY 218 winds north and northwest along the border of West Point, crossing through a section of the military academy. As the route approaches theHudson River, it bends northward as theStorm King Highway, paralleling the river and theCSX Transportation-ownedRiver Subdivision (ex-West Shore Line). A short distance to the north, the route crosses a gate and entersStorm King State Park. Making a large bend around a rock base, NY 218 approaches the Hudson River, overlooking the river and railroad tracks below. The route winds northwest for several miles alongside the rock siding, crossing into the town ofCornwall, where the route turns west and away from the river. Crossing through a dense section of woods, the route makes several bends through Storm King State Park, re-approaching the river a short distance to the north.[3]
NY 218 turns westward again in Cornwall, crossing into the village ofCornwall-on-Hudson. A short distance to the east, NY 218 crosses out of Storm King State Park and crosses gates that close the roadway. Now known as Bay View Avenue, NY 218 is a two-lane residential street through Cornwall-on-Hudson, proceeding west through the village. At Dock Hill Extension, NY 218 darts north and changes streets to Hudson Street, where it continues westward. Hudson Street is more commercial than Bay View Avenue and after entering the downtown section of Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY 218 darts westward on Hudson, while Idlewild Avenue continues northwest on the former right-of-way. The section of NY 218 west of Idlewild is residential before intersecting with Academy Avenue, where NY 218 turns off of Hudson Street.[3]
NY 218 continues northwest through Cornwall-on-Hudson on Academy Avenue, remaining a two-lane residential street through the village. At the intersection withCounty Route 9 (CR 9; Main Street, formerly the northern terminus of NY 307), NY 218 proceeds northwest again, entering an interchange with US 9W. Now back in the town of Cornwall, NY 218 terminates at this interchange with US 9W.[3]
In 1908, theNew York State Legislature created Route 3, an unsignedlegislative route extending from theNew Jersey state line inRockland County toAlbany by way of theHudson River's west bank. The route mostly followed what is nowU.S. Route 9W; however, fromHighland Falls toCornwall-on-Hudson, it used modern NY 218 instead.[4][5] Much of legislative Route 3 became part ofNY 10 when the first set of posted routes inNew York were assigned in 1924[6][7] and part of US 9W when it was originally assigned in 1927.[8]
In the early 1930s, plans were made by the state of New York to construct a new highway between theBear Mountain Bridge and Cornwall-on-Hudson that would bypass both Cornwall-on-Hudson and Highland Falls and bypass the narrowStorm King Highway. On April 8, 1934, three people were killed by a rockslide on the Storm King Highway, expediting plans for the new highway, known as the Storm King Cut-off. In April 1935, the Storm King Cut-Off was given the designation of NY 257.[9] It was constructed in stages from 1937 to 1941,[10][11] with the final segment of the highway (from Angola Road north to Blooming Grove Turnpike north of Cornwall-on-Hudson) opening to traffic on May 31, 1941. US 9W was realigned to follow the cut-off[12] while its old route via the Storm King Highway became NY 218 in August 1941.[2][13]
During theforest fires on Storm King during the summer of 1999, NY 218 was closed for over a year, reopening in August 2000.[14] The road was washed out in 2023 by theNortheastern United States flash flood of July.[15]
The entire route is inOrange County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Falls | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 9W /US 6 Truck –New York,Newburgh | Interchange; southern terminus | |
| 0.22 | 0.35 | Old State Road (NY 980U south) | |||
| 0.98 | 1.58 | West Point Highway (NY 980W north) –West Point | |||
| Town of Highlands | 2.45 | 3.94 | Southern end of limited-access section | ||
  US 9W south /US 6 Truck east | Southern end of US 9W/US 6 Truck concurrency | ||||
| 3.21 | 5.17 |    US 9W north /NY 293 south /US 6 Truck west –Newburgh,Central Valley | Northern end of US 9W/US 6 Truck concurrency; northern terminus of NY 293 | ||
| Northern end of limited-access section | |||||
| Town of Cornwall |   CR 9 south (Main Street) | FormerNY 307 | |||
| 10.81 | 17.40 | US 9W –Newburgh,Bear Mountain | Interchange; northern terminus;hamlet ofFirthcliffe | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Route 218, a popular shortcut to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, reopened yesterday at 1:45 p.m. for the evening rush after being closed for more than a year of repairs ... Hundreds of people use the road daily to get to work at West Point
