page_title: U.S. Route 20 in New York
section_title: Central New York
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 20 in New York / Route description / Central New York
caption_attribution_description: English: View along eastbound US 20 at Big Bend, NY, USA
context_page_description: U.S. Route 20 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Newport, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, US 20 extends 372.32 miles from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains. US 20 is the longest surface road in New York. It runs near the Lake Erie shore from Ripley to Buffalo and passes through the southern suburbs of Buffalo, the Finger Lakes, the glacial moraines of Central New York, and the city of Albany before crossing into Massachusetts. US 20 connects to all three major north–south Interstate Highways in Upstate New York: Interstate 390 near Avon, I-81 south of Syracuse, and I-87 in Albany by way of Fuller Road Alternate.
  With the exception of Albany, it passes directly through no major cities of the state, bypassing Syracuse and Utica by great distances to the south while the New York State Thruway and New York State Route 5, which share its corridor, pass right through or close to them. It skirts the southern and eastern suburbs of Buffalo.
context_section_description: While NY 5 heads north from the split towards Syracuse and the Thruway, US 20 keeps to its easterly heading, following East Genesee Street out of the city, proceeding past Auburn Correctional Facility to the Onondaga County line. Here, NY 41A comes in from the south at the western end of the village of Skaneateles, a community at the north end of the eponymous lake, the last Finger Lake along US 20. NY 321 leaves to the north in the center of town, and NY 41A's parent route, NY 41, begins its long journey to the Southern Tier on the other side of Skaneateles. US 20 continues east for another 1.25 miles (2.01 km) out of the village to the south end of NY 175, after which it starts trending southward, returning to two lanes.
  The landscape starts to grow hillier as it begins to cross the glacial moraines of the less populated reaches of southern Onondaga County. About 3 miles (5 km) east of NY 175, US 20 is briefly joined by NY 174, which goes to Otisco Lake, the easternmost Finger Lake. The southward trend continues for another 6 miles (10 km) to an intersection with NY 80, a signed east–west route running north–south at this point. East of NY 80, it drops into the Onondaga Creek valley to connect to the northern terminus of NY 11A 4 miles (6 km) to the east before climbing the next ridge to LaFayette, where it intersects I-81 at exit 15 and meets its paralleling surface route, US 11 at junctions 0.5 miles (0.8 km) apart. At this point, US 20 is 15 miles (24 km) south of the Thruway.
  From LaFayette, it drops into another deep valley, curving around an area known as Big Bend, prior to climbing back up 5 miles (8 km) towards the crest of the ridge at Pompey. Here, US 20 and NY 91 intersect at an elevation of 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level. After another 2 miles (3.2 km), the road drops down into the Limestone Creek valley and crosses into Madison County as it curves back up into higher ground. Another 2 miles (3.2 km) brings US 20 to the eastern terminus of NY 92, the south end of Cazenovia Lake and the village of Cazenovia itself. Its main street is marked by a brief concurrency with NY 13, a long, curving north–south route that comes from the cities of Ithaca and Cortland to the south.
  East of Cazenovia, US 20 resumes its southward drift as it climbs into the high ground again and expands to four lanes, passing the small village of Morrisville in the process. It descends from there to its next state highway, NY 46, where it reverts to two lanes for a brief concurrency, after which NY 46 leaves for isolated Hamilton. The southern trend reverses itself after this junction, with first NY 26 and later NY 12B joining US 20 to create another three-route overlap. This persists for three very straight miles until both leave to the north in the town of Madison. After another 2 miles (3.2 km), the highway crosses into Oneida County.
  The major intersection here is NY 12, another long north–south route, 3 miles (5 km) into the county at Sangerfield, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Waterville. From this intersection, US 20 takes the name Cherry Valley Turnpike from the historic road it follows towards Albany. US 20 climbs back into the high ground afterward and veers further southward to the next intersection with a major north–south highway, NY 8, at Bridgewater. Like NY 12, it leads northward to the city of Utica. After NY 8, the road crosses the headwaters of the Unadilla River into Otsego County.
caption: View at Big Bend, east of LaFayette
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