Interstate 87 - History - Adirondack Northway

Adirondack Northway

The Northway was built in segments, which became I-87 as they were completed and linked to the pre-existing route. Construction began in the late 1950s on the portion of the Northway between the Thruway and NY 7 near Latham. This segment was open to traffic by 1960, by which time work had begun on two additional segments from Latham to Malta (at NY 67) and from US 9 in northern Saratoga County to US 9 and NY 149 midway between Glens Falls and Lake George village. The expressway was completed between Latham and Clifton Park (NY 146) and from US 9 south of Glens Falls to the Hudson River c. 1961. Work on the Latham–Malta and US 9–NY 149 segments concluded c. 1962. When the Latham–Malta segment was opened it featured one of the few railroad grade crossings on an Interstate Highway, just south of the "Twin Bridges" (as the Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge is called locally) over the Hudson. Construction on the portion of highway between the two segments began c. 1962 and was completed by 1964. During this same period, another extension brought the northern terminus of the Northway to NY 9N south of Lake George village.

By 1966, the Northway was completed from Albany north to Lake George and from the Canadian border south to Keeseville. At the time, I-87 curved around the outskirts of Lake George to end at NY 9N north of the village on a highway built c. 1964. The last section of the Northway to be built—a 30-mile (48 km) stretch between Underwood (exit 30) and Keeseville (exit 34)—was completed in spring 1968. I-87 was reconfigured slightly near Lake George as a result: instead of heading east to NY 9N, it continued north on a parallel routing to US 9. I-87's former routing to NY 9N, known infrequently today as the Lake George Connector, is now NY 912Q, an unsigned reference route 0.66 miles (1.06 km) in length. NY 912Q has one intermediate interchange with US 9. The completion of I-87 linked New York City with Montreal by way of a direct, limited-access highway (with I-87 becoming Autoroute 15 at the Canadian border).

Parade Magazine designated the Northway as America's Most Scenic Highway in 1967. In 2007, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) ceremonially designated the entire 176-mile (283 km) Northway as the Adirondack Veterans' Memorial Highway.

A long stretch of the Northway through the Adirondack Park had been an unserved zone for cellular telephone service. In 2007, a driver crashed off the road was unable to summon help, prompting messages from local governments to telephone companies to add new wireless towers to address the problem, and also for warning signs to inform travelers of the so-called "dark zone". Throughout this area, roadside emergency call boxes are located approximately every two miles on both sides of the roadway. These boxes use a two-way UHF radio network to connect directly to New York State Police dispatchers. The first of 13 new cellular phone towers along I-87 was installed in October 2008. A second cellular phone tower was completed just one month later.

Fuller Road Alternate, the lone portion of the Adirondack Northway not part of I-87, was originally intended to be part of the Southern Albany Expressway, a proposed highway which would have connected the Northway with I-787 and run parallel to the New York State Thruway between exits 23 and 24.