Interstate 190 (New York)

**Interstate 190** (**I-190**, locally known as **One-Ninety**) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that connects I-90 in Buffalo, New York with the Canada-U.S. border near Niagara Falls. The freeway bisects downtown Buffalo before crossing Grand Island and travelling around the outskirts of Niagara Falls before crossing the Niagara River on the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge into Ontario. On the Canada side of the Canada–US border, the freeway continues as Highway 405, a short spur that connects with the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), which in turn provides a freeway connection to Toronto, Canada's largest city. The 28.34-mile-long (45.61 km) route also provides access to the QEW at the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario.

Officially, I-190 from I-90 north to New York State Route 384 (NY 384) is named the **Niagara Thruway** and is part of the New York State Thruway system. The remainder, from NY 384 to Lewiston, is known as the **Niagara Expressway** and is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation. I-190 is the only three-digit Interstate Highway to reach the Canada–US border, and one of only two to connect to an international border, the other being Interstate 110 in Texas.

Parts of the highway were built along the former rights-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Erie Canal. The entire route was built as part of the New York State Thruway
 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was completed in 1964. The cost of I-190's construction had been paid off by 1996, and by law, the tolls
 along the freeway were supposed to be removed at that point; however, this did not occur until 2006. The Grand Island tollbooths remained in place for 12 more years, but were taken down in 2018 and replaced with high speed toll collection.

## Route Description

I-190 begins at an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90) in Cheektowaga in Erie County, just north of the West Seneca town line and east of the Buffalo city line. I-190 heads west into Buffalo, passing the former location of the City Line toll barrier ahead of an interchange with South Ogden Street (exit 1). Farther west, I-190 meets NY 354 (exit 2), NY 16 (exit 3), and several local streets before entering downtown Buffalo. Within the downtown area, I-190 passes between KeyBank Center and Sahlen Field near an interchange with NY 5 (exit 7) on the shores of Lake Erie. At NY 5, I-190 turns northward to follow the path of the Niagara River. Shortly after meeting NY 266
 (exit 8) immediately northwest of downtown, I-190 interchanges with
Porter Avenue (exit 9), a local roadway connecting I-190 to the Peace Bridge and, thus, the Queen Elizabeth Way in Canada.

North of downtown Buffalo, I-190 follows the eastern edge of the Black Rock Canal
(and passes the site of the former Black Rock toll barrier) before rejoining the banks of the Niagara near an exit with the Scajaquada Expressway (NY 198,
 exit 11). I-190 continues north through the northern extents of
Buffalo, meeting multiple streets before separating from the Niagara and
 interchanging with NY 266 and NY 324 (exits 15 and 16) in quick succession. At exit 16, NY 324 joins I-190 northward through western Tonawanda. The two routes then meet I-290 and NY 266 a second time prior to crossing the Niagara River on the South Grand Island Bridge. NY 324 leaves the expressway shortly after arriving on Grand Island at exit 18.

I-190 and NY 324 follow parallel routings across Grand Island, with both roads passing on opposite sides of Fantasy Island,
 a local amusement park, near the center of the island. At the northern
edge of the island, NY 324, as signed, terminates at exit 20; however,
officially, NY 324 rejoins I-190 across the Niagara River once again via
 the North Grand Island Bridge. Now in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY 324 ends at a complex interchange featuring NY 384, the Niagara Scenic Parkway, and the LaSalle Expressway on the eastern bank of the river. Farther north, I-190 meets U.S. Route 62 (US 62) at exit 22 and NY 182 at exit 23.
Past NY 182, I-190 turns to the northwest, skirting the northeastern edge of Niagara Falls and roughly paralleling NY 265 to the east. In Lewiston, the expressway meets NY 31 at exit 24 southwest of the large Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant
 reservoir. I-190 continues onward, crossing the canal between the
reservoir and the power plant on a small dam also used by NY 265. The freeway then interchanges with NY 265, the Niagara Scenic Parkway, and NY 104 at the expansive exit 25 before curving to the west and terminating at the approach to the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge. Across the bridge in Queenston, Ontario, the roadway becomes Highway 405.