New York State Route 29 - History

History

In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 26, an unsigned legislative route that extended from Little Falls to Barneveld via Dolgeville and Salisbury. Also created at this time was Route 37, which ran from Johnstown to Ballston Spa via Galway. Route 26 roughly followed what is now NY 29 from Dolgeville west to Fairfield while Route 37 utilized the NY 29 corridor from Johnstown to the modern junction with NY 147 at Kimball Corners. In 1910, Route 26 was reconfigured to begin in Mohawk and follow what is now NY 169 and NY 28 between Little Falls and Barneveld. Route 37, meanwhile, was altered twice by 1912 to begin in Dolgeville and follow modern NY 29 east to Johnstown. East of Johnstown, it was tentatively routed on Fulton County's CR 107 and current NY 30 to Broadalbin, where Route 37 rejoined the path of modern NY 29 and followed it east to Saratoga Springs.

Much of what is now NY 29 east of Saratoga Springs was included in the legislative route system during the 1910s. In 1911, the portion of modern NY 29 west of the Hudson River in Schuylerville was designated as part of Route 43, a new route that extended south from Schuylerville to Stillwater. The segment of current NY 29 between Saratoga Springs and Grange Hall Road west of Schuylerville became part of Route 25 by 1920. On March 1, 1921, Routes 25, 37, and 43 were reconfigured as part of a partial renumbering of New York's legislative route system. Route 37 was extended southwest to Little Falls over Route 26's original alignment and realigned between Johnstown and Broadalbin to use the path of modern NY 29. Route 43, meanwhile, was renumbered to Route 44 and extended west to Saratoga Springs over Route 25, which was altered to use current U.S. Route 9 from Glens Falls to Saratoga Springs.

NY 29 was assigned in the mid-1920s, utilizing the routing of legislative Route 37 from Dolgeville to Saratoga Springs, the alignment of Route 44 between Saratoga Springs and Schuylerville, and the original routing of Route 26 between Fairfield and Dolgeville. The route also extended farther out in both directions as it initially began in Barneveld and ended south of Salem. In between Barneveld and Fairfield, NY 29 passed through Poland and Middleville. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the segment of NY 29 between Barneveld and Middleville became part of an extended NY 28 while NY 29 was truncated southeastward to Middleville.

East of Johnstown, NY 29 originally zig-zagged across it current route. Some of the old alignments remain as side roads or access routes, including Schoolhouse Road, Schabacker Road, and Circle Road in the town of Johnstown. The old route also followed current Fulton County Route 155 through Vail Mills where it overlaps briefly with NY 30 and continues into the village of Broadalbin. In Broadalbin, original NY 29 entered as West Main Street, turning right onto Mill Street, then left on Saratoga Avenue, leaving the village and meeting the current routing. East of Broadalbin, other original alignments included Stevers Mill Roads, Mueller Road, and Old State Road. The current alignment between Broadalbin and the Saratoga County line was built in the early 1950s while the bypass around Vail Mills and Broadalbin was completed c. 1961.