New York State Route 175 - History

History

The section of Route 175 from downtown Marcellus to Route 173 in Onondaga was built along the historical Seneca Turnpike. The turnpike was originally the Genesee Road which began in the city of Utica and ended in the city of Canandaigua. Genesee Road was approved by the state legislature in 1794, and construction began in sections from Utica to Canandaigua. In 1800, the road was renamed to "Seneca Turnpike" when a law was passed to establish a maintenance company. At 157 miles (253 km), the turnpike was the longest in the state at the time.

Soon after settlement of the village of Skaneateles began, the Seneca Turnpike route which originally bypassed the village to the north was relocated southward to go through the growing settlement. The Seneca Turnpike Company closed its doors in 1852. Modern NY 175 does not follow either the original alignment or the relocated alignment, but rather the length of a former trolley line that went from Skaneateles to Syracuse via Marcellus and Onondaga. This trolley line parallels the relocated alignment.

When the NY 175 designation was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, it began at an intersection with US 20 in the village of Skaneateles and utilized the relocated Seneca Turnpike alignment (New Seneca Turnpike) between Skaneateles and Marcellus. This road is now designated but not signed as CR 41 by Onondaga County. A 31-mile (50 km) alternate route of US 20 between Skaneateles and Cazenovia by way of Marcellus was designated as NY 20N c. 1938. The new route utilized pre-existing numbered highways, including NY 175 from NY 174 in Marcellus to NY 173 in Onondaga. The NY 20N designation was removed c. 1962, as was the nearby NY 20SY, another alternate route of US 20 that served downtown Syracuse.

In the 1930s, the western terminus of Route 175 was relocated eastward to Route 174 in downtown Marcellus. The configuration of NY 175 remained unchanged until the early 1960s when the route was re-extended westward over the New Seneca Turnpike to its original terminus in Skaneateles. The section of NY 175 west of Marcellus was realigned in the early 1980s to follow Lee Mulroy Road and NY 174 between US 20 and Marcellus. Ownership and maintenance of the former alignment of NY 175 on the New Seneca Turnpike was eventually transferred to Onondaga County, which designated the highway as CR 41. Additionally, the modern alignment of NY 175 on Lee Mulroy Road is maintained by Onondaga County and co-designated as CR 73.