page_title: New York State Route 149
section_title: Other developments
hierarchical_section_title: New York State Route 149 / History / Other developments
caption_attribution_description: English: Signage along New York State Route 149 in the community of Smith's Basin, New York for the Champlain Canal's 9th Lock
context_page_description: New York State Route 149 is an east–west state highway that runs for 32.20 miles through the Capital District of New York in the United States. It begins at exit 20 on the Adirondack Northway in the Warren County town of Queensbury and intersects U.S. Route 9, US 4, and NY 22, among other routes, as it progresses eastward to its eastern end at the Vermont state line in the Washington County village of Granville. Here, the highway becomes Vermont Route 149 and continues for an additional 1.302 miles to an intersection with VT 30 in Rutland County. Both NY 149 and VT 149 traverse mostly rural areas.
  NY 149 was assigned in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York and initially extended from NY 9L in Queensbury to NY 22 south of Granville by way of an east–west highway built during the first two decades of the 20th century. It was cut back to US 4 c. 1939, but extended westward back to NY 9L in the mid-1950s. It was extended further west to US 9 in the late 1950s and to I-87 exit 20 c. 1962. In the mid-1960s, NY 22 was rerouted to bypass Granville to the west. NY 149 was then extended to Vermont by way of NY 22's former routing into the village and East Main Street.
context_section_description: On July 2, 2005, the Hadlock Pond Dam north of West Fort Ann failed, washing out four sections of NY 149 near that community. As a result, the portion of the route between NY 9L in Queensbury and US 4 in Fort Ann was closed to all traffic. After one week, the highway was reopened, but only for local traffic and construction crews. It was reopened to all traffic on July 24. The impromptu repair project cost the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) $1.5 million (equivalent to $1.96 million in 2020).
  In 2007, the Times Union of Albany received letters from readers requesting that all of NY 149 be widened from two to four lanes. The letters were forwarded to NYSDOT, who responded that although the route was an important recreational route between New York and Vermont, the amount of traffic that the route carries was not high enough to warrant a four-lane divided highway. Additionally, the state would also have to take a significant number of properties along the roadway in order to widen it, which would affect the character of the area.
  On July 10, 2008, a tanker truck full of water crashed into a tree along a portion of NY 149 between Bay Road (CR 7) and Ridge Road (NY 9L) that features a sharp curve. After the first accident occurred at 3:10 a.m., a second tractor-trailer, who had stopped because of the tanker, rolled in reverse, jackknifing across the road and hitting a car. The road was shut down for the accident, where the driver of the tanker was taken to Glens Falls Hospital. The drivers of the car and the tractor-trailer that jackknifed were not hurt. The route was reopened by 11:40 a.m. This accident was one of many tractor-trailer accidents that has occurred on this stretch of NY 149.
  NY 149 between Martindale Road in the town of Queensbury and the Washington County line was upgraded by New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in the late 2000s. Construction began on February 9, 2009 to upgrade the 2.75 miles (4.43 km) long segment. The project consisted of repaving the roadway in areas, but also included widening the shoulder to 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, reconstructing and straightening NY 149 near Martindale Road along with a spot near the Queensbury Country Club. Culverts would be replaced, drainage systems would be upgraded and they would create a new wetland mitigation area aside of NY 149. Finally, left turn lanes would be constructed at NY 9L and CR 7 (Bay Road). Announced alongside of a project to reconstruct NY 372, the project would cost $8 million (2009 USD) and given to Kubricky Construction Corporation, based in Queensbury, with a slated completion date of June 2010. However, by July 2010, construction had not been completed, as they just had shut down NY 149 between NY 9L and CR 7.
  On December 19, 2012, NYSDOT announced a project to reconstruct NY 149 and its junction with US 4 in Fort Ann. The project would upgrade the intersection by doing an overall expansion, requiring the condemnation of one property. This new widening would help make turns from US 4 south to NY 149 west. The intersection would be repaved and drainage basins on US 4 and NY 149, which would tie into the system on Clay Hill Road. NYSDOT's website notes that announced that bids of the new project were announced in Fall 2013 with construction beginning soon after. The slated date of completion for the $1.3 million project would be in Fall 2014.
caption: Signage for Champlain Canal Lock 9 along NY 149 in Smith's Basin
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