New York State Route 198 - History

History

The modern NY 198 corridor was originally served by Scajaquada Drive and Humboldt Parkway, two surface streets that linked Delaware Park to Humboldt Park (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Park). Scajaquada Drive began at Grant Street and went eastward through Delaware Park to Agassiz Circle. Here, it met Humboldt Parkway, which ran from NY 384 in Delaware Park to Fillmore Avenue at Humboldt Park by way of the modern Scajaquada and Kensington Expressway corridors. Construction of the Scajaquada Expressway began in the early 1960s. The first section of the freeway extended from Grant Street to NY 384 and was completed by 1961. An extension west to the Niagara Thruway opened in 1962, at which time all of the expressway was designated as NY 198. The portion of Humboldt Parkway between NY 384 and the Kensington Expressway was upgraded into a divided highway in the mid-1960s, at which time it became part of NY 198.

Community activists have proposed that the highway be downgraded to a pedestrian-friendly roadway more in harmony with the surrounding communities. The New York State Department of Transportation is investigating the feasibility of the project, currently estimated to cost around $85 million. According to the state, no work will be performed until 2016 at the earliest.