NY 7 begins at the Pennsylvania state line south of Corbettsville, where the road connects to Pennsylvania Route 29 (PA 29). Like PA 29 to the south, NY 7 follows Snake Creek north to Corbettsville, where it meets NY 7A on the banks of the Susquehanna River. From Corbettsville northward, NY 7 becomes the riverside highway, following the river (as well as U.S. Route 11 or US 11 and I-81 on the opposite bank) through Conklin to eastern Binghamton, where it indirectly connects to US 11 via a bridge over the Susquehanna.
The exit for NY 7 from I-81 and NY 17 in Binghamton.
The route continues west into downtown along Conklin Avenue, then heads north on Tompkins Avenue to traverse the Susquehanna River. On the opposite bank, NY 7 intersects US 11 and becomes Brandywine Avenue. After three blocks, NY 7 merges with NY 363, a limited-access highway. While NY 363 terminates at the merge, NY 7 follows the right-of-way of NY 363 northward, connecting to the concurrent routes of I-81 and NY 17 by way of an interchange before leaving the city limits.
Immediately north of Binghamton in Port Dickinson, NY 7 merges with I-88 across the Chenango River from the western terminus of I-88 at I-81. I-88 and NY 7 continue to the northeast along the Chenango River through Chenango Bridge (where the routes meet NY 12A) and Port Crane (where I-88 and NY 7 meet NY 369 and leave the path of the Chenango River) before separating in Sanitaria Springs.
NY 7 is signed north-south from the PA line to I-88 near Binghamton, while the remainder of the route is signed east-west.
From Sanitaria Springs eastward, I-88 and NY 7 follow parallel routings through Colesville to Harpursville, where NY 7 overlaps NY 79 for a short distance and intersects NY 235 outside of the community. East of NY 235, NY 7 rejoins the Susquehanna River, following the river (as well as I-88 on the opposite bank) through several riverside villages (including Bainbridge and Unadilla) to Oneonta. West of the city, NY 7 meets NY 23 and joins the route into the heart of Oneonta. Near the eastern edge of the city, NY 23 breaks from NY 7 while NY 7 continues onward in the shadow of I-88 and the Susquehanna River. To the northeast in Colliersville, the Susquehanna separates from NY 7 and is joined by NY 28 while NY 7 continues along the path of Schenevus Creek.
Both I-88 and NY 7 head northeast along the creek through numerous communities to Richmondville, where NY 7 meets NY 10 at an interchange with I-88 near Cobleskill Creek. NY 10 turns east onto NY 7, forming an overlap along the creek to Cobleskill before separating from NY 7 in the center of the village at an intersection with NY 145. NY 145 then overlaps NY 7 east out of the village before separating midway between Cobleskill and Schoharie near Howe Caverns. North of Schoharie, NY 7 briefly overlaps NY 30A across Schoharie Creek before intersecting NY 30 west of the Schoharie-Schenectady County line.
Capital District
In Duanesburg, southwest of Schenectady, NY 7 intersects US 20 and meets I-88 once more at exit 24. Both routes continue northeast along Normans Kill into western Schenectady, where I-88 meets NY 7 one final time by way of another interchange before terminating at an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90). NY 7, however, passes over the Thruway with no connection and heads east into Rotterdam as Duanesburg Road. In the center of the community, NY 7 turns east onto Curry Road, remaining on the roadway to an interchange with I-890 adjacent to the Schenectady Albany county line. NY 7 merges with I-890 northward for two exits (creating a wrong-way concurrency) before exiting onto the Crosstown Arterial.
At the end of the arterial in eastern Schenectady, NY 7 becomes the at-grade Troy–Schenectady Road as it heads along the south bank of the Mohawk River into Albany County. Shortly after entering the county and the Town of Colonie, NY 7 leaves the river and progresses southeast toward the hamlet of Latham. Soon after passing the Albany International Airport and prior to entering the center of Latham, NY 7 meets I-87 (the Adirondack Northway) at exit 6. Here, NY 7 joins the Adirondack Northway northward while Troy–Schenectady Road continues east as NY 2. At exit 7, NY 7 separates from the Adirondack Northway and continues east on a five-lane, limited-access freeway known locally as "Alternate Route 7". The route connects to US 9 and I-787 / NY 787 by way of interchanges prior to crossing over the Hudson River and into Troy over the Collar City Bridge. The route remains a limited-access highway to 8th Street, where it becomes the at-grade Hoosick Street.
NY 7 continues east through Troy, intersecting NY 40 before exiting the city. Past Troy, the land surrounding NY 7 is largely rural as it heads through Pittstown to Hoosick, where it meets and is briefly concurrent to NY 22. Farther east, NY 7 intersects the western end of the Bennington Bypass, a limited-access highway leading to Bennington, Vermont, before crossing into Vermont and becoming Vermont Route 9.
One of the canceled Interstate 92 proposals would have traced NY 7 from Albany to the Vermont border where it would continue via Vermont Route 9 through Bennington and Brattleboro, Vermont, with an intersection with I-91 in Brattleboro. It would have then followed New Hampshire Route 9 and I-89 to Concord, New Hampshire, then I-93 to Manchester, New Hampshire. Next, the highway would trace New Hampshire Route 101, intersecting with I-95 followed by US Route 1 in Hampton, New Hampshire, then terminating at the ocean.
History
Origins and assignment
The history of parts of NY 7 date back to shortly after the settlement of Hoosick in 1688. Hoosick was a part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and a public manor road was laid from Rensselaer to the site later of Troy at a ferry crossing, and then to the northeast as far as Hoosick. The section of NY 7 from Troy to Hoosick is that old manor road.[4] The 19th century toll road known as the Troy and Schenectady Turnpike (now the Troy–Schenectady Road) chartered in 1802, connecting the cities of Troy and Schenectady.[5] Another turnpike road, the Troy Turnpike, was established in 1831 and went east from Troy to Bennington, Vermont.[6] The road between Binghamton (at the location known as Chenango Point) through the village of Unadilla to the town of Otego may have been maintained as a turnpike road by the Unadilla Turnpike Company, was chartered in 1806.[7]
Portions of modern NY 7 between Binghamton and Central Bridge were part of the Susquehanna Valley Route Auto trail.[8] The state took over maintenance of certain trunk line highways at the beginning of the 20th century. Most of modern NY 7 was first defined in the 1909 Highway Law (amended in 1911)[9] as State Route 7, which was designated from the Pennsylvania state line at Binghamton town to Harpursville, then along the Susquehanna Valley through Oneonta to the town of Schoharie. From there, the legislative route 7 went east via Berne and New Scotland then ending in Albany. The portion of modern NY 7 continuing northeast from the town of Schoharie to Schenectady was part of State Route 7A. The portion of modern NY 7 between Troy and Schenectady was defined as part of State Route 42, while that between Troy and Hoosick was part of State Route 22.[10]
In 1924, when state highways were first publicly signed, most of what is now NY 7 between Binghamton and the Vermont state line was designated as New York State Route 9,[2] continuing the numbering of New England Route 9 in Vermont. Within Albany, NY 9 followed the modern routing of NY 2 through Latham to Troy, where the connection to the modern alignment of NY 7 was made via current US 4.[11] In 1927, NY 9 was redesignated as NY 7 to avoid conflict with US 9.[3] The route north of Binghamton remained unchanged in the 1930 renumbering;[12] however, south of Binghamton, NY 7 was extended to the Pennsylvania state line, where it became PA 29.[13][14]
Realignments
Over the years, NY 7 has been realigned to follow different routings in and around the cities it serves. Prior to 1930, NY 7 began at Court Street in Binghamton and followed Chenango Street north into Fenton, where it turned east and continued through Port Crane to the Colesville hamlet of Sanitaria Springs.[15][16] In the 1930 renumbering, NY 7 was extended south to Pennsylvania by way of Court Street, Tompkins Street, and Conklin Avenue.[14][17] NY 7 was realigned slightly by 1947 to follow Robinson Street and Brandywine Avenue between Chenango and Tompkins streets.[17] The Brandywine Highway, a four-lane arterial through Binghamton and Port Dickinson, opened to traffic c. 1961 as a realignment of NY 7.[18][19] The portion of NY 7 between Port Dickinson and Sanitaria Springs was relocated onto a new limited-access highway between 1968 and 1973.[20][21] The segment of Chenango Street between the Binghamton city line and current NY 7 in Port Dickinson (a distance of 1.07 miles or 1.72 kilometres) is now NY 990H, an unsigned reference route.[1][22] The former pre I-88 routing of NY 7 between Port Crane and Sanitaria Springs is now NY 7B.[22] Prior to becoming NY 7B in the 1990s,[23][24] it was designated NY 990K, an unsigned reference route.[25]
In Schenectady, it was originally routed along Broadway, State Street, Nott Terrace, and Union Street.[3] It was shifted at some point between 1938 and 1947 to avoid downtown along Curry Road, Altamont Avenue and Brandywine Avenue.[17][26] The former alignment along Union Street east of NY 146 later became reference route NY 911G, and Broadway from Edison and Millard to I-890 became NY 914D, and NY 915D from there to Weaver Road. Meanwhile, the portion of Curry Road between Altamont Avenue and NY 146 was designated as NY 146C in the mid-1930s.[27][28] NY 7 was rerouted c. 1962 to follow Curry Road east from Altamont Avenue to the new I-890, where NY 7 turned north and followed I-890 to modern exit 7. Here, the route split from I-890 and continued to the junction of Union Street and Rosendale Road east of the city by way of a new arterial. The NY 146C designation was removed from Curry Road as part of the change.[19][29] NY 7's former routing along Altamont Avenue from Curry Road to the Schenectady city line (a length of 0.96 miles or 1.54 kilometres) is now the unsigned NY 911H.[1][22] Prior to the creation of the modern reference route system, Altamont Avenue was designated as NY 951. Reference markers along the route still bear this number.[30]
In 1981, the Collar City Bridge was built, connecting Green Island with Troy in the Capital District.[31] By 1985, construction had begun on the NY 7 freeway, then planned as NY 7 Alternate, between I-87 and I-787 west of Green Island.[32] In 1986, NY 7 "Alternate" opened, becoming part of a realigned NY 7.[31] The old surface alignment was designated as an extension of NY 2.[33]
NY 28 originally overlapped NY 7 from the intersection of Main and Chestnut streets in Oneonta to Colliersville, where it turned north onto D.K. Lifgren Drive to rejoin NY 28's modern alignment. NY 28 was rerouted to follow its current alignment between Main Street south of Oneonta and D.K. Lifgren Drive near Colliersville in the early 1980s following the completion of what is now NY 28 from I-88 exit 17 to D.K. Lifgren Drive.[34][35][36][37] The portion of Main Street between NY 28 and NY 7 (0.67 miles or 1.08 kilometres long) is now designated as NY 992D while D.K. Lifgren Drive (0.50 miles or 0.80 kilometres in length) is now NY 992G.[38]
The original NY 7B was an alternate route of NY 7 from Unadilla to Oneonta that was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering. It overlapped NY 28 from North Franklin to Oneonta.[41][42] On November 27, 1969, the New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner T. W. Parker announced that NY 7B would be renumbered to NY 357. This new designation would also truncate NY 7B off the overlap with NY 28 to Oneonta and simplify signage for drivers to understand in the city of Oneonta. This would also open the door for signage to be added for future Interstate 88. On January 1, 1970, the North Franklin–Oneonta portion was removed and the Unadilla–North Franklin portion of NY 7B was renumbered to NY 357. If the weather permitted, the official signage would be replaced in the spring of 1970.[43][44]
NY 7C was a loop off of NY 7 east of Schenectady in the Capital District. The majority of the route was located in Schenectady County; however, the easternmost 40 yards (37 m) of the route was located in Albany County. It began at NY 7 in Niskayuna and proceeded east along Rosendale Road into Colonie, where it ended at NY 7. The route was assigned c. 1961[18][19] and removed in the late 1960s.[20][44] Ownership and maintenance of NY 7C's former routing in Schenectady County was transferred from the state of New York to the county on April 1, 1980, as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government.[45] This portion of the route is now designated as County Route 158.[46]
^ ab"New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers". The New York Times. December 21, 1924. p. XX9.
^ abcAutomobile Blue Book. Vol. 1 (1927 ed.). Chicago: Automobile Blue Book, Inc. 1927. This edition shows U.S. Routes as they were first officially signed in 1927.
^Barnett, J. N. (1881). History of Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church, Centre Brunswick, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and its vicinity. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Gazette Co. p. 10.
^Howell, George Rogers (1886). History of the County of Schenectady, N.Y., from 1662 to 1886. W.W. Munsell and Co. Publishers.
^Anderson, George Baker (1897). "History of Troy, New York". D. Mason and Co. Publishers. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
^New York State Legislature (1806). "98". Laws of the State of New York. Vol. 4. Albany, NY: Websters and Skinner. p. 448. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
^Rand McNally and Company (1920). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Official 1920 Auto Trails Map New York, Northern Pennsylvania. District Number 5. 1:1,600,000. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company – via Rumsey Collection.
^State of New York Commission of Highways (1919). The Highway Law. Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
^The Highway Law. State of New York Commission of Highways. 1919. Retrieved September 26, 2019. editions:0BO0d1_wjEj48SYL7L.
^Upstate New York City Street Maps (Map) (1st ed.). 1" = 1/2 mile. Cartography by DeLorme Mapping. DeLorme Mapping. 1990. p. 39. § E1. ISBN0-89933-300-1.
^Oneonta Quadrangle, New York (Map). 1 : 24,000. 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1982. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
^West Davenport Quadrangle, New York (Map). 1 : 24,000. 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1982. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
^Road Map of New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Standard Oil Company of New York. 1930.
^Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book, 1930–31 and 1931–32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930–31 edition shows New York state routes prior to the 1930 renumbering
PA 29 near Great Bend, PA
VT 9 near Bennington, VT
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