Interstate 86 (New York-Pennsylvania)

## Interstate 86

East Portion:
NY 17/NY 79 in Windsor, NY

Future:
 in Harriman, NY

West Portion:
 near North East, PA

### Counties

NY: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, BroomePA: Erie; Bradford

**Interstate 86** is an east-west highway running from near Windsor, New York to near North East, Pennsylvania. It will soon run from North East, PA all the way to Harriman, NY near LEGOLAND New York. Currently, it is split into two parts in the east and in the west. The eastern part runs from North East, Pennsylvania to South Waverly, Pennsylvania, and is the longest segment at 222 miles. It is concurrent with NY 17 for the entire route. The western part is smaller, only running at 10 miles, going from Kirkwood, New York to Windsor, New York. It is concurrent with NY 17 for the entire route, and concurrent with Interstate 81 for around 4.5 miles. The completed highway will connect Interstate 90 to Interstate 81, Interstate 81 to Interstate 84, and Interstate 84 to the New York Thruway. It will also connect the Erie & Cleveland area to the New York City and Connecticut areas.

## Route Information

### Western Section (Pennsylvania-South Waverly)

Interstate 86 begins near North East, Pennsylvania at Interstate 90, and continues east towards Jamestown. Interstate 86 then enters New York, passing Jamestown, meeting US 62, passing Salamanca, meeting US 219, passing Kanona, meeting I-390 and NY 15, passing Corning, meeting US 15 and I-99, passing Horseheads, meeting NY 14 and NY 13, passing Elmira, and then passing back into Pennsylvania in South Waverly, meeting US 220, and then I-86 ends at the border of Pennsylvania and New York. NY 17 continues towards Binghamton.

### Eastern Section (Windsor-Johnson City)

Interstate 86 begins at NY 17 Exit 71 in Johnson City, NY, and continues east towards Binghamton. It then meets Interstate 81 and US Route 11 at Exit 72, where it begins a concurrency with I-81 and US-11. It then meets New York 7 (To I-88) at the next exit to go towards Binghamton. I-81 and I-86 continue east. At Fivemile Point, I-81 and US 11 go south towards Scranton, and I-86 continues east with NY 17. It then ends at Exit 79 in Windsor.

## History & Future

New York Highway 17 is currently being converted into Interstate 86. The entire route from the NY/PA Line past I-90, to Harriman, NY and Interstate 87. It will also connect all of southern New York to Interstates 90 and 87. It also indirectly serves the Erie, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio, LEGOLAND, New York, New York City, New York, and Connecticut areas.

### Liberty Highway

Highway 17 was the first route to serve the I-86 corridor. It was designated in 1924, and was completed by 1962. The original designation ran from Westfield, NY to the New Jersey state line, as a part of the Liberty Highway from Cleveland to New York.

### Southern Tier Expressway

In 1953, Governor Thomas E. Dewey introduced a plan to build four highways across New York State to supplement the New York Thruway. The Southern Tier Expressway was one of them, along the NY 17 designation, running from the Thruway in the west to Binghamton in the east. By 1972 the Southern Tier Expressway was complete between I-90 and I-81, and was opened to traffic in 1997.

### Interstate 86 designation

The AASHTO formally approved High Priority Corridor 36 (NY 17 between PA State Line and I-87) to be designated as Future I-86 in 1998. Future I-86 signs started showing up on NY-17, and on up-to-standard portions of NY-17, it was marked as I-86.

### Completion of Interstate 86

New York 17 still hasn't been brought up to standards along all of Interstate 86. The original completion date was December 2020, but it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that an environmental impact study was underway, public outreach was expected in early 2023, and that $1 Billion was available for Interstate 86. However, Interstate 86 has already been signed on Interstate 84 (For I-86 West), and on some exits between Middletown and Binghamton.