 New York State Route 38A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of the Finger Lakes region with NY 38A highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofNY 38 | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOT and the city ofAuburn | ||||
| Length | 21.91 mi[1] (35.26 km) | |||
| Existed | 1930[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  NY 38 inMoravia | |||
| North end |   US 20 /NY 5 inAuburn | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Onondaga,Cayuga | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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New York State Route 38A (NY 38A) is a north–southstate highway located withinOnondaga andCayuga counties incentral New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection withNY 38 in thevillage of Moravia. Its northern terminus is at a junction withU.S. Route 20 (US 20) andNY 5 in downtownAuburn. Much of NY 38A runs through rural, undeveloped areas situated betweenOwasco Lake andSkaneateles Lake.
The southern half of NY 38A was originally designated as part ofNY 26 in 1924. In the1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 26 was broken up into several routes, including NY 38A, a new route assigned to NY 26's former alignment between Moravia and Skaneateles and a previously unnumbered highway from Skaneateles to Auburn.
NY 38A begins at an intersection withNY 38 in thevillage of Moravia. It proceeds east out of the village on East Cayuga Street and follows it to the vicinity of St. Patrick's Cemetery, where NY 38A turns to follow Decker Creek northward through a valley surrounding the creek. While in the valley, NY 38A passes through mostly undeveloped areas of the towns ofMoravia andNiles. At Globe Hotel Corners, an extremely smallhamlet just north of the Niles town line, NY 38A begins to parallelNY 41A, which runs roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east of NY 38A along the top of the valley.[3]
Approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Globe Hotel Corners, NY 38A turns to follow a more northwesterly routing, matching the curvature of the river valley. The valley ends at theCayuga–Onondaga County line, where NY 38A enters an area of flats situated in betweenOwasco Lake andSkaneateles Lake. Here, NY 38A intersectsNY 359, a short highway leading to NY 41A. NY 38A bears west here, traveling to the south of the Dutch Hollow Country Club as it reenters Cayuga County.[3]
The route proceeds west into the town ofOwasco and the hamlet of the same name within, the first community of any significant size along the route since it left Moravia. It heads westward through the center of the community before reentering rural surroundings and coming within view of Owasco Lake. The route curves northward at the waterbody and follows the eastern shore ofOwasco Lake towardAuburn. Southeast of Auburn, NY 38A crosses a small stream and serves the Lakeview Golf and Country Club and the Owasco Country Club as it curves westward around the northern end of the lake.[4]
At Emerson Park, a public park situated near the midpoint of the northern lakeshore, the highway turns back to the north to accessMelrose Park, a community built up just north of the lake around the Owasco Outlet. Here, NY 38A meetsNY 437, a short connector highway linking NY 38A to its parent,NY 38. North of Melrose Park, the route becomes known as Owasco Street as it follows the Owasco Outlet into the city of Auburn.[4] At the city line, ownership and maintenance of the route shifts from theNew York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to Auburn.[5][6] The route heads northeastward through the densely populated city to Walnut Street, where it splits into aone-way couplet along Fulton Street (northbound) and John and Owasco Streets (southbound). One block to the north, NY 38A intersectsUS 20 at Genesee Street. US 20 joins NY 38A for one block to the Auburn Arterial (NY 5), where NY 38A comes to an end.[4]
When the first set of posted routes inNew York were assigned in 1924, the segment of modern NY 38A between its southern terminus inMoravia andNY 359 inSkaneateles was designated as part ofNY 26, a north–south highway extending fromIthaca toSyracuse.[7] In the1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 26 was split into several routes. FromDryden to Moravia, NY 26 became part ofNY 38.[8] Between Moravia and modernNY 359, it became the southern half of the new NY 38A, an alternate route of NY 38 around the east side ofOwasco Lake that continued from the current NY 359 junction toAuburn by way of a previously unnumbered roadway.[2]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga | Village of Moravia | 0.00 | 0.00 | NY 38 (West Cayuga Street / Main Street) | Southern terminus |
| Onondaga | Town of Skaneateles | 11.51 | 18.52 |   NY 359 north –Skaneateles | Hamlet of Mandana; southern terminus of NY 359 |
| Cayuga | Town of Owasco | 19.63 | 31.59 |    NY 437 west (White Bridge Road) toNY 38 | Eastern terminus of NY 437;hamlet ofMelrose Park |
| Auburn |  US 20 east (Genesee Street) –Skaneateles | Southern terminus of US 20 / NY 38Aoverlap | |||
| 21.91 | 35.26 | US 20 west /NY 5 (Arterial) –Seneca Falls,Geneva | Northern terminus; northern terminus of US 20 / NY 38A overlap | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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