New York State Route 34B - History

History

In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 11, an unsigned legislative route extending from Ithaca to Auburn via the hamlets of South Lansing, Lake Ridge, King Ferry, Scipioville, and Fleming. No route was assigned to the Ithaca–Auburn corridor when the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924; however, the primary north–south highway between the two cities was included as part of NY 40 by 1926. NY 40 followed a more easterly alignment than legislative Route 11 between South Lansing and Fleming, bypassing Lake Ridge, King Ferry, and Scipioville on what is now NY 34.

The NY 40 designation was reassigned to another highway in the Capital District as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. Its former routing south of Cato became part of the new NY 34, which extended south through Ithaca to Waverly. At the same time, the former alignment of legislative Route 11 between South Lansing and Fleming was designated as NY 34B. Also assigned as part of the renumbering was NY 229, an extension of NY 34B east to NY 38 in the Dryden hamlet of Peruville. NY 34B and NY 229 were separated by less than 1 mile (1.6 km) of NY 34. The NY 229 designation was removed c. 1939.

On April 1, 1980, the road from South Lansing to Peruville became a state highway once again as ownership and maintenance of the roadway was transferred from Tompkins County to the state of New York as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government. The new state highway became an extension of NY 34B.