New York State Route 426 - Route Description

Route Description

NY 426 begins where the southern segment of PA 426 leaves off at the Pennsylvania state line in French Creek 6 miles (10 km) north of Corry, Pennsylvania. The route heads north through rural southwestern Chautauqua County to the small community known as Cutting, where it overlaps NY 474 for a tenth of a mile (0.16 km) westward before resuming its trek northward. Roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Cutting, NY 426 veers to the west to avoid a large ridge situated near Beaver Meadow Brook, a small stream leading to French Creek. The route follows the brook to where it converges with the creek, then parallels French Creek northward toward the waterside hamlet of French Creek. The creek and NY 426 split south of the community, with the creek continuing along French Creek–Mina Road to the hamlet while NY 426 bypasses French Creek to the west. The route enters the town of Mina upon intersecting Harrington Hill Road a mile (1.6 km) to the north.

A half mile (0.8 km) into Mina, NY 426 comes within view of Findley Lake, a body of water 2 miles (3.2 km) long from south to north and as wide as one-half mile (0.8 km) at points. The route follows the eastern edge of the lake north to the hamlet of Findley Lake, situated at the northern tip of the lake. Here, NY 426 overlaps NY 430 westward for three blocks through the community prior to connecting to the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86 and NY 17) by way of an interchange 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Findley Lake. The exit is the westernmost exit on NY 17; however, the expressway itself continues west to I-90 near Erie, Pennsylvania, as I-86. Past the expressway, NY 426 continues northwest for another 2 miles (3.2 km) through nondescript terrain to the Pennsylvania state line, where it becomes the northern segment of PA 426.