 New York State Route 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of northern New York with NY 3 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOT and the cities ofWatertown andPlattsburgh | ||||
| Length | 245.88 mi[1] (395.71 km) | |||
| Existed | 1924[2]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Great Lakes Seaway Trail | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  NY 104A inSterling | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end |  US 9 in Plattsburgh | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Cayuga,Oswego,Jefferson,Lewis,St. Lawrence,Essex,Franklin,Clinton | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
New York State Route 3 (NY 3) is a major east–weststate highway inNew York, in the United States, that connectscentral New York to theNorth Country region near theCanada–US border viaAdirondack Park. The route extends for 245.88 miles (395.71 km) between its western terminus at an intersection withNY 104A in theCayuga County town ofSterling and its eastern terminus at a junction withU.S. Route 9 (US 9) in theClinton County city ofPlattsburgh. NY 3 traverses eight counties and is a lakeside roadway fromMexico toSackets Harbor, a mountainous route inAdirondack Park, and an urban arterial inFulton,Watertown, andPlattsburgh.
In 1924, the segment of theTheodore Roosevelt International Highway within New York was designated NY 3. At that time, it spanned the full east–west length of the state, extending from the eastern bank of theNiagara River inNorth Tonawanda to the western edge ofLake Champlain in Plattsburgh; however, the routing through the North Country was significantly different at that time from its modern alignment. The route was moved onto its modern routing east of Watertown as part of the1930 renumbering of state highways in New York; it was truncated to Sterling on its western end and rerouted to follow its current alignment from Sterling to Watertown roughly five years later.
Since 1924, there have been 14 suffixed routes of NY 3, all designated between NY 3A and NY 3G. Of these, all but one only existed during the 1930s. The only active designation is NY 3A, which was assigned in the 1950s to an alternate route of NY 3 inJefferson County.
A substantial portion of NY 3 travels east–west across northernNew York and passes through the northern part of theAdirondack Mountain Range. Much of this section of the highway is named as part of theOlympic Trail Scenic Byway.[3]
The areas NY 3 passes through alternate between long stretches of rural area, consisting of a mix of open terrain and dispersed residences, and compact settlements containing concentrations of houses and businesses. NY 3 is classified mainly as a minor arterial road, the major exception being the section that is concurrent with NY 812, which is a principal arterial road.[4][5] Most of the route is maintained by theNew York State Department of Transportation. Exceptions are in the cities ofWatertown andPlattsburgh, where at least part of the road is city-maintained. In Watertown, NY 3 is locally maintained from Massey Street (southbound US 11 junction) to the end of the NY 3/NY 12 overlap. The route is entirely city-maintained in Plattsburgh.
NY 3 begins at an intersection withNY 104A in Sterling. NY 3 continues east to meetNY 104 in the center ofHannibal. From there, NY 3 progresses acrossOswego County and passesLake Neatahwanta prior to enteringFulton. Within Fulton, NY 3 intersectsNY 48 on the west bank of theOswego River before crossing the river and meetingNY 481 at the eastern bank. East of the city, NY 3 passes south of theOswego County Airport as it heads to the northeast through Palermo. Upon intersectingNY 264, NY 3 becomes signed as a north–south highway instead of as an east–west route. It proceeds north to the village ofMexico, where it meets NY 104 once again. NY 3 and NY 104 overlap briefly through the western portion of the village before separating at the center of Mexico. While NY 104 heads east towardWilliamstown, NY 3 heads north toward thehamlet ofTexas.[6]
East of Texas, NY 3 meetsNY 104B near theLake Ontario shoreline. Past NY 104B, NY 3 parallels bothInterstate 81 (I-81) andUS 11 as it heads along the shore of Lake Ontario. Near theSelkirk Shores State Park west ofPulaski, NY 3 intersectsNY 13 adjacent to the mouth of theSalmon River. After crossing the Salmon River, NY 3 passes theSandy Island Beach State Park before enteringJefferson County. At the county line, NY 3 becomes signed as an east–west highway once again. The route continues northward towardEllisburg where it meetsNY 193 at the entrance toSouthwick Beach State Park northwest of the community. Past NY 193, NY 3 passes the lakeside atWestcott Beach State Park prior to entering the vicinity ofSackets Harbor. The route bypasses both Sackets Harbor and theSackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site to the east before separating from Lake Ontario and proceeding eastward towardWatertown.[6]
West of the city of Watertown, NY 3 intersectsNY 180 southwest of theWatertown International Airport before connecting to I-81 by way of an interchange at the city line. NY 3 heads east into Watertown, intersecting with both US 11 andNY 12 at Massey Street. At this point, maintenance of NY 3 shifts from the state to the city of Watertown. The route overlaps NY 12 southbound and a short piece of US 11 northbound through downtown toPublic Square, where NY 3 meets northbound NY 12. US 11 northbound leaves NY 3 here while the overlap between NY 3 and NY 12 continues eastward through Watertown. The concurrency ends near the eastern fringe of the city, where NY 3 leaves NY 12 and becomes state-maintained once more as it departs the city to the northeast.[6][7]
InBlack River, northeast of Watertown, NY 3 intersectsNY 342 at the southwestern tip of theFort Drum Military Reservation. NY 3 follows the southern edge of the base toDeferiet, where NY 3 turns south to follow theBlack River while NY 3A continues along the border of Fort Drum. NY 3 follows the river toCarthage, where it overlapsNY 126 briefly before heading northeast to rejoin NY 3A atFargo. NY 3 forms the southern boundary of the base from NY 3A east to just west of the Jefferson-Lewis County line; however, nearNatural Bridge, the Fort Drum boundary heads due north before becoming delimited by theIndian River. NY 3, meanwhile, traverses the river and enters Lewis County.[6]
Midway between Natural Bridge andHarrisville, NY 3 intersectsNY 812. NY 812 turns east onto NY 3, following NY 3 northeast intoSt. Lawrence County before splitting to the northwest between Harrisville andPitcairn. Shortly after departing NY 812, NY 3 entersAdirondack Park. The route follows a largely east–west routing from its entry point toTupper Lake, where it merges withNY 30. NearUpper Saranac Lake, NY 30 heads north towardMalone as NY 3 continues northeast through nearbySaranac Lake towardPlattsburgh.[6]
West of Plattsburgh, NY 3 exits the park and encountersNY 374 via an interchange. Past the exit, the two routes follow parallel routings before separating outside of Plattsburgh. NY 3 curves to the southeast toward the formerClinton County Airport, where it meetsNY 22B just west of what was once the main entrance to the airport. From NY 22B, NY 3 continues east to the outskirts of Plattsburgh, where it meets theAdirondack Northway (I-87). Past I-87, NY 3 follows Cornelia Street into the city, where it becomes city-maintained. Within Plattsburgh, NY 3 intersectsNY 22 before terminating atUS 9 just west ofLake Champlain.[6][8]
NY 3 originally followed a vastly different alignment than it does today. In 1924, it was assigned to the New York portion of theTheodore Roosevelt International Highway, anauto trail that extended fromPortland, Maine, toPortland, Oregon. In New York, it connectedNorth Tonawanda (nearNiagara Falls) in the west toPlattsburgh in the east viaRochester andWatertown.[2] NY 3 began at what is now the intersection ofUS 62 andNY 425 and followed modern NY 425 north through Cambria Station to Cambria Center, from where the highway continued toLockport on Lower Mountain, Gothic Hill, and Upper Mountain Roads and modernNY 31. It remained on current NY 31 through the city and mostly followed that route's modern alignment acrosswestern New York to the city ofRochester. The most significant exception to this was between Lockport andGasport, where NY 3 veered south by way of modernNY 77 andCounty Route 10 (CR 10) to serve thehamlet of McNalls.[9][10]
Within Rochester, NY 3 remained on the current alignment of NY 31 to what is now the intersection of Lyell Avenue and Broad Street. Here, NY 3 broke from modern NY 31 and continued east on Lyell Avenue to State Street. NY 3 then followed State Street, Main Street, and East Avenue (modernNY 96) through downtown before turning north onto Culver Road in the eastern portion of the city. The route remained on Culver Road to Empire Boulevard, where it turned east towardIrondequoit. Once in Irondequoit, it followed what is nowNY 404 around the southern extent ofIrondequoit Bay toWebster.[11] NY 3 was realigned by 1930 to stay on East Avenue to Winton Road near the eastern edge of the city. Here, the route turned north, following Winton Road through eastern Rochester to Irondequoit, where it rejoined its previous routing at Empire Boulevard.[12]
Past Webster, NY 3 followedRidge Road throughWayne County toRed Creek, where it continued northeast on what is nowNY 370 andNY 104A through Red Creek,Fair Haven, andSterling to westernOswego County. At Southwest Oswego, NY 3 joined the routing of modernNY 104 throughOswego andMexico toMaple View.[9] Between Maple View andWatertown, NY 3 overlappedNY 2 along what is nowUS 11. Past Watertown, NY 3 was routed along today'sNY 12F andNY 180 to Limerick, where it continued north toClayton by way of modernNY 12E.[9][13] East of Clayton, it followed modernNY 12,NY 26 andCR 192 throughAlexandria Bay toRedwood. From there, it utilized the current alignment ofNY 37 up throughOgdensburg (by way of Main and Ford Streets in the city) before continuing toWaddington on Van Rensselaer Road. NY 3 went east from here along a now-dismantled riverside highway and Town Line Road toMassena, where it was routed on modernNY 37B.[13]
East of Massena, NY 3 followed a series of local roads that parallel the moderndivided highway section of NY 37 toRooseveltown, at which point it rejoined current NY 37. The highway remained on today's NY 37 up toCR 51 northwest ofMalone, where NY 3 continued south on CR 51 to modern US 11 (then NY 2) west of the village. After briefly overlapping NY 2 (current US 11) into Malone, NY 3 turned south onto what is nowNY 30, following the route toPaul Smiths. Past Paul Smiths, NY 3 continued east along the length of modernNY 86 toJay, overlapping then-NY 10 fromHarrietstown toSaranac Lake in between. Lastly, from Jay to Plattsburgh, NY 3 overlapped then-NY 6 along what is nowNY 9N andUS 9.[13]
In the late 1920s, NY 3 was rerouted near Malone to follow modern NY 37 into the village, largely eliminating the overlap with US 11. Additionally, NY 3 was truncated to Jay on its eastern end. The former alignment to Plattsburgh became part ofNY 9W from Jay toKeeseville and US 9 from Keeseville to Plattsburgh.[10][13] A more substantial realignment of NY 3 took place as part of the1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. NY 3 now began concurrent withNY 31A at then-NY 18 (now NY 104) inNiagara Falls. The routes proceeded eastward along modern NY 31 toSanborn, where NY 31A turned north to follow what is nowNY 429 back to then-NY 31. NY 3 continued on current NY 31 for another two miles to Shawnee, where it met its original alignment to North Tonawanda, which became part of NY 425 in the renumbering. At this point, NY 3 rejoined its previous alignment, overlapping NY 425 up to Cambria–Wilson Road, where that route split off and continued to the north.[14][15]
NY 3 was realigned in two locations between Lockport and Rochester. One was just east of Lockport, where it was straightened out to go directly from Lockport to Gasport on modern NY 31, bypassing McNalls. The other was betweenMiddleport andMedina, where it was realigned to use modernNY 31E instead. NY 3's old alignment from Lockport to Gasport via McNalls became part of NY 77 west of McNalls andNY 359 north of the community.[14][15] Its former routing between Middleport and Medina becameNY 3A.[16]
The most significant realignment that occurred at this time was in theNorth Country, where NY 3 was shifted onto its current alignment between Watertown and Plattsburgh. FromTupper Lake east to Plattsburgh, most of what became NY 3 was previously part of NY 10. The NY 10 designation remained in place from Tupper Lake east toUpper Saranac Lake, forming an overlap with NY 3; however, it was completely replaced by NY 3 from Saranac Lake east. Between Upper Saranac Lake and Saranac Lake, the routing of NY 3 was previously unnumbered, as was the routing from Watertown to Tupper Lake.[14]
At least four suffixed routes of NY 3 were created as part of the 1930 renumbering. The longest of the four initial routes wasNew York State Route 3C, an alternate route of NY 3 that generally followed NY 3's current alignment between Sterling and Watertown.[15][16] Another was assignedc. 1931 when NY 3 was rerouted betweenDeferiet andWilna to bypassCarthage to the north on modern NY 3A. The portion of NY 3's former routing from Deferiet to Carthage became NY 3F.[15][17] NY 3 was shifted southward onto modern NY 31 between Shawnee and Lockportc. 1932. The realignment eliminated overlaps with NY 425 andNY 93, the latter of which had used NY 3's former routing east of Cambria–Wilson Road since it was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering. Even though all of the former routing had a designation, it was also designated asNY 3A anyway. As a result, the designations of all of NY 3's spur routes were increased by one letter, meaning the existing NY 3A becameNY 3B, NY 3C becameNew York State Route 3D, and so forth.[17][18]
US 104 was assignedc. 1935, extending from Niagara Falls to Maple View mostly by way of then-NY 31 west of Rochester and NY 3 from Rochester to Maple View. As a result, NY 31 was shifted southward onto the alignment of NY 3 from Niagara Falls to Rochester while NY 3 was realigned south of Watertown to follow the routing of NY 3D to a new terminus inSterling. Every spur route of NY 3 was eliminated at this time except forNY 3G.[19][20] The alignments of NY 3 and NY 3G between Deferiet and Wilna were flippedc. 1938.[21][22]
At some point between 1935 and 1938, NY 3 was truncated further to end at its junction with US 104 inHannibal.[20][23] It was moved another half-mile (0.8 km) to the east in the early 1960s following the completion of thesuper two bypass carrying US 104 around the eastern edge of the village.[24][25] NY 3 continued to end at the super two[26] until the early 1980s. On April 1, 1980, ownership and maintenance of NY 3's former routing between theCayuga County line and NY 104 was transferred fromOswego County to the state ofNew York. One year later, on April 1, 1981, the state assumed ownership and maintenance of the Cayuga County portion from that county. Both transactions were part of larger highway maintenance swaps between the state and the two counties.[27] NY 3 was reextended westward to NY 104A following the second swap.[28][29]
FromSandy Creek toHenderson, NY 3C (later NY 3D) was routed on Weaver Road,CR 121,NY 193,CR 78,NY 178, andCR 123.[15] A new lakeside highway between Sandy Creek and the modern junction of NY 3 and NY 193 was opened to trafficc. 1932 as a realignment of NY 3D.[18][30] An extension of the roadway north to Henderson was completed by the following year.[31] To the southwest in Oswego County, NY 3 was originally routed on modern CR 3 between Hannibal andFulton and on Hannibal and Oneida Streets through the city of Fulton. The modern arterial through the city was constructedc. 1962[24][32] while the Hannibal–Fulton highway was built in the mid-1960s.[25][33]
NY 3 has had 14 suffixed routes over the years; however, all of them except for one only existed during the 1930s. The only active designation is NY 3A, which is currently assigned to an alternate route of NY 3 inJefferson County.
At least four suffixed routes of NY 3 were created as part of the1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.[15][16] Two more were assigned by the following year. All of these were renumberedc. 1932.[17][18]
All the routes below except for the current NY 3A were assignedc. 1932.[17][18]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga | Sterling | 0.00 | 0.00 | NY 104A –Fair Haven,Oswego | Western terminus;hamlet of Crocketts |
| Oswego | Village of Hannibal | 3.41 | 5.49 |  NY 104 –Oswego,Rochester | |
| Fulton | 11.39 | 18.33 |  NY 48 | ||
| 11.43– 11.59 | 18.39– 18.65 | Bridge over theOswego River | |||
| 11.73 | 18.88 |  NY 481 | |||
| Palermo | 16.74 | 26.94 |   NY 49 east –Central Square | Western terminus of NY 49 | |
| 19.45 | 31.30 |   NY 264 south –Syracuse | Northern terminus of NY 264 | ||
| Village of Mexico | 27.70 | 44.58 |  NY 104 west –Oswego | Western terminus ofconcurrency with NY 104 | |
| 27.96 | 45.00 | NY 104 east –Camden | Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 104 | ||
| Town of Mexico | 31.85 | 51.26 |  NY 104B west /Great Lakes Seaway Trail –Oswego | Eastern terminus of NY 104B | |
| Richland | 36.10 | 58.10 |  NY 13 south –Pulaski | Northern terminus of NY 13; hamlet ofPort Ontario | |
| 36.13– 36.38 | 58.15– 58.55 | Bridge over theSalmon River | |||
| Jefferson | Ellisburg | 51.43 | 82.77 |  NY 193 east –Ellisburg | Western terminus of NY 193 |
| Henderson | 57.09 | 91.88 |    NY 178 east toI-81 –Adams | Western terminus of NY 178 | |
| Hounsfield | 68.46 | 110.18 |   NY 180 north /Great Lakes Seaway Trail –Dexter,Cape Vincent | Southern terminus of NY 180 | |
| Town of Watertown | 74.06 | 119.19 | I-81 –Syracuse,Canada | Exit 156 on I-81; partial cloverleaf interchange | |
| City of Watertown | 75.64 | 121.73 |  US 11 south | ||
| 75.99 | 122.29 | US 11 north | Western terminus of US 11 northbound overlap | ||
| 76.06 | 122.41 | US 11 north | Eastern terminus of US 11 northbound overlap | ||
| 76.15 | 122.55 |  NY 12 north | Western terminus of NY 12 overlap | ||
| 77.51 | 124.74 |   NY 12 south toNY 126 | Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 12 | ||
| Le Ray | 81.88 | 131.77 |  NY 342 west –Fort Drum | Eastern terminus of NY 342 | |
| Rutland | 84.60 | 136.15 | NY 971V –Fort Drum | Hamlet ofFelts Mills | |
| Champion | 87.23 | 140.38 |  NY 26 –Fort Drum,Lowville | Hamlet ofGreat Bend | |
| Deferiet | 89.06 | 143.33 |  NY 3A east | Western terminus of NY 3A | |
| Carthage | 94.80 | 152.57 | NY 126 west | Western terminus of concurrency with NY 126 | |
| 94.87 | 152.68 | NY 126 east | Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 126 | ||
| Wilna | 98.84 | 159.07 | NY 3A west –Watertown | Eastern terminus of NY 3A; hamlet ofFargo | |
| Lewis | Diana | 111.71 | 179.78 |  NY 812 south –Croghan | Western terminus of concurrency with NY 812 |
| St. Lawrence | Pitcairn | 116.16 | 186.94 | NY 812 north –Gouverneur | Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 812 |
| Fine | 127.20 | 204.71 |  NY 58 north –Edwards | Southern terminus of NY 58 | |
| Colton | 157.95 | 254.20 |  NY 56 north –Potsdam | Southern terminus of NY 56 | |
| Franklin | Village of Tupper Lake | 175.23 | 282.01 |  NY 30 south | Western terminus of concurrency with NY 30 |
| Harrietstown | 180.77 | 290.92 |  NY 30 north –Lake Clear,Paul Smiths,Adirondack Airport | Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 30 | |
| Saranac Lake | 196.06 | 315.53 |  NY 86 west –Paul Smiths,Malone | Southern terminus of concurrency with NY 86 | |
| 196.49 | 316.22 | NY 86 east | Northern terminus of concurrency with NY 86 | ||
| Essex | St. Armand | 202.88 | 326.50 |   CR 81 west –Paul Smiths,Gabriels | Eastern terminus of CR 81; former eastern terminus ofNY 192; hamlet ofBloomingdale |
| Franklin | Franklin | 212.18 | 341.47 |   CR 26 west –Malone | Eastern terminus of CR 26; former eastern terminus ofNY 99 |
| Clinton | Town of Plattsburgh | 237.08 | 381.54 |  NY 374 west –Dannemora | Access viaNY 970F; hamlet ofCadyville |
| NY 374 east –Plattsburgh | Partial interchange; eastbound entrance and westbound exit; hamlet of Cadyville | ||||
| 242.13 | 389.67 |  NY 22B south –Morrisonville | Northern terminus of NY 22B | ||
| 242.70 | 390.59 |  NY 190 west (Military Turnpike) | Eastern terminus of NY 190 | ||
| 244.05 | 392.76 |   I-87 toA-15 –Montreal,Albany | Exit 37 on I-87 | ||
| City of Plattsburgh | 245.62 | 395.29 |  NY 22 south (North Catherine Street) | One-way southbound | |
| 245.75 | 395.50 | NY 22 north (Oak Street) | One-way northbound | ||
| 245.88 | 395.71 | US 9 | Eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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