New York State Route 429 - Route Description

Route Description

NY 429 begins on the banks of the Niagara River at a junction with NY 265 and NY 384 in downtown North Tonawanda. The route heads east as Wheatfield Street, crossing the CSX Transportation-owned Niagara Subdivision at a grade crossing that separates an industrialized block of the street from more residential sections to the east. After three blocks, NY 429 turns onto Oliver Street and follows it northwestward through residential and industrial portions of the city, paralleling NY 265 and NY 384 for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to a junction with Ward Road. Oliver Street and Ward Road merge here, and the combined street takes on the Ward Road name as it proceeds due northward through the solely residential northern portion of North Tonawanda. NY 429 exits the city near a junction with Ruie Road, at which point maintenance of the route shifts from the city to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).

Now in the town of Wheatfield, NY 429 heads across populated but less developed areas on its way to a junction with US 62. North of this point, the closely spaced homes gradually give way to more isolated houses and, eventually, rural farmland. It continues on a north–south line to the town of Lewiston and the hamlet of Sanborn, located adjacent to the Lewiston–Cambria town line. In the small but developed community, NY 429 follows Buffalo Street past three blocks of homes to a junction with NY 31 (Saunders Settlement Road). Buffalo Street ends here; however, NY 429 joins NY 31 for two blocks east to Townline Road, a north–south highway delimiting the boundary between Lewiston and Cambria. NY 429 continues north on Townline Road, passing the sprawling main campus of Niagara County Community College, a stark departure from the rural fields that NY 429 traversed in Wheatfield.

Past the college, NY 429 follows the Lewiston–Cambria town line for the rest of its length. In terms of elevation, it reaches a crest of 644 feet (196 m) at Upper Mountain Road in Pekin before it begins to descend the Niagara Escarpment, a beach ridge that further west led to the formation of Niagara Falls eons ago. Here, on clear enough days, a wide panorama can be seen of the entire northern half of the county and Lake Ontario. After descending 100 feet (30 m), it crosses a narrow plateau containing Lower Mountain Road. Another 150-foot (46 m) drop follows, and NY 429 ends shortly afterward at a junction with NY 104 (Ridge Road) located 392 feet (119 m) above sea level—a 252-foot (77 m) descent from Pekin. During this final, mostly undeveloped stretch, NY 429 passes the Buffalo Diocese's Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.