New York State Route 17K

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NY Route 17K
Length:	22.12 mi[1] (35.6 km)
West end:	NY 17 at Bloomingburg
Major junctions:	I-84 in East Coldenham I-87/Thruway in Newburgh
East end:	US 9W/NY 32 in Newburgh
Counties:	Orange
New York State Routes < NY 17J NY 17M >

New York State Route 17K is a state highway in southern New York, entirely within Orange County. The western terminus is at the intersection with NY 17 located near Bloomingburg, which is in Sullivan County, New York. The eastern terminus is located at Newburgh at US 9W. In Newburgh it becomes the main thoroughfare known as Broadway.

The road can be divided into a half west of Montgomery, where it runs through relatively undeveloped land; and an eastern half where it closely parallels Interstate 84, to the point that it too is signed at Exit 17 of the New York State Thruway.

Contents 1 Route description 2 Communities along the route 3 Major intersections 4 History 5 References

[edit] Route description

Before the construction of the Route 17 Quickway, 17K's western terminus was at the intersection with the old, two-lane NY 17 just short of the Orange-Sullivan county line, the bridge over the Shawangunk Kill near the center of Bloomingburg. Today, the designation officially begins where the roadway crosses under NY 17.

From there it heads roughly eastward, going up and down some gentle hills, to the first traffic light, the six-way intersection with NY 302 (also the Long Path hiking trail) that passes for downtown Bullville. The direction of the highway remains unchanged as it continues past several horse farms and Winding Hills Park to reach Ward's Bridge, where it crosses the Wallkill River and enters Montgomery.

The portion within the village is rather short, although consequential enough to include the traffic light at the northern end of NY 211. After the village, it passes the combined building of Valley Central High School and Valley Central Middle School. The growing population of the area has added more traffic to the highway in recent years, forcing the school board to increase the stagger between the two schools' schedule.

This has also complicated Scotts Corners, the intersection with NY 208 a mile past the schools. Despite heavier rush-hour traffic due to the nearby I-84 exchange, both roads remain two-lane, with plans to expand any of them strongly resisted by local residents who fear the increase in development that might ensue. Just past the intersection, the brand-new headquarters of Walden Federal bank sit atop a hill on the north and a strip mall opposite contains another traffic magnet, the Orange County Choppers' retail store, which draws customers from a great distance.

Shortly afterward, Berea Elementary School adds its traffic to the nearby intersection. Past it, 17K remains rather undeveloped, with the odd house, store or side street breaking the woods. Much of the land here is owned by the county for another one of its parks.

The next traffic light, Coldenham Road, was until recently a blinker, another testament to increasing development in northern Orange County. From the east, it provides a good shortcut to Walden.

17K continues on toward its next light, Drury Lane, where traffic will probably increase when the road is widened to support a new interchange along 84 in conjunction with the new access road to be built into the airport from the west. Shortly afterward, it passes yet another building of the Valley Central School District, East Coldenham Elementary School, where 16 students died when a wall collapsed during a freak 1989 tornado.

Development along the highway begins to increase at this point as 17K itself intersects I-84 and runs along the northern boundary of Stewart International Airport. The Newburgh Auto Auction's vast parking lots are visible to the north and commercial hangars to the south. The Air National Guard base can also be seen, with several large C-5 cargo planes usually parked on the tarmac in front of their hangars. The base's entrance road, secured with a series of concrete barriers since the September 11, 2001 attacks, marks the end of the airport property.

Next, 17K crosses over the Thruway. Actual access will not come for at least a mile, but the road widens to four lanes with a middle turn lane and becomes heavily developed as it reaches the busy intersection with the Newburgh area's main commercial strip, NY 300. A short distance past this light is the entrance ramp to the Thruway, a long loop back to the toll booth which also picks up traffic from 84 and 300 as well.

The four-lane section continues until the Newburgh city limit, where it narrows to two lanes for several primarily residential blocks before widening into Broadway. A few blocks later, NY 207 reaches its eastern terminus. Further on, NY 32 comes in from the south as Lake Street. The two make the only mulitplex along 17K for several more blocks to the US 9W junction at Robinson Street. Here 17K ends while 32 joins 9W.

[edit] Communities along the route

• Bloomingburg
• Bullville
• Montgomery
• Newburgh

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Road(s)	Notes
Orange	Bloomingburg	0.0	NY 17	NY 17K passes under NY 17. Official western terminus of NY 17K.
		0.1	NY 17	Exit 115 (NY 17).
	Bullville	3.5	NY 302
	Montgomery	10.4	NY 211	Eastern terminus of NY 211.
	Scotts Corners	12.3	NY 208
	East Coldenham	17.1	I-84	Exit 6 (I-84).
	Newburgh		I-87 Thruway	NY 17K passes over I-87/Thruway.
		19.7	NY 300 Union Avenue
		19.8	I-87 Thruway	Exit 17 (I-87/Thruway). Entrance displaced almost a mile from actual Thruway crossing.
	Newburgh	21.1	NY 207 Little Britain Road/Wisner Avenue	Eastern terminus of NY 207.
		21.9	NY 32 Lake Street	Western terminus of duplex.
		22.1	US 9W NY 32 Robinson Avenue	Eastern terminus of NY 17K/NY 32 duplex.

Legend
Crossing, no access	Concurrency termini	Decommissioned	Unconstructed	Closed

[edit] History

Route 17K follows the route of the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike, one of the first in the state. Stone markers indicating the distance from Newburgh can still be seen by the roadside at several locations.

[edit] References

1. ^ New York Routes - New York State Route 17K