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Interstate 787

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Archons (talk | contribs) at 21:37, 16 May 2009 (→Northern terminus: cite needed tag. Image in this section is of sign. Shield is clearly not "old", so also removing that word.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Interstate 787 marker
Interstate 787
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length9.55 mi[1] (15.37 km)
Length to NY 7 in Green Island.
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-87 / New York Thruway in Albany
Major intersections US 9 / US 20 in Albany
I-90 in Albany
North end NY 7 / NY 787 in Green Island
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
Highway system
← NY 747→ NY 787

Interstate 787 (abbreviated I-787) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. As I-87 does not have a direct exit in the city of Albany, I-787 serves as the most direct route between Albany and points south on I-87. The southern terminus is at the Interstate 87/New York State Thruway exit 23 toll plaza southwest of downtown Albany. The northern terminus of the route is unclear, with some sources placing the terminus at 8th Street in Troy, creating an overlap with New York State Route 7 between Green Island and Troy. Other documents show I-787 as terminating at its interchange with NY 7 and NY 787 in Green Island. Regardless, the route is 10.16 miles (16.35 km) long if extended to Troy, or 9.55 miles (15.37 km) excluding the NY 7 overlap. Any concurrency that exists between NY 7 and I-787 is unsigned.

North of NY 7, the right-of-way of I-787 continues north as NY 787 to the city of Cohoes.

Route description

I-787 shares a brief concurrency with US 9 between Exits 3 & 4.

I-787 officially begins at the toll barrier for I-87/Thruway exit 23;[1] however, a short 0.57-mile (0.92 km) spur between U.S. Route 9W and the interchange connecting I-787 to the Thruway, designated as New York State Route 912S, an unsigned reference route, is signed as I-787.[4][5] At the east end of the interchange (exit 1) with I-87, I-787 northbound merges with NY 912S, progressing due east for a short distance before curving to the northeast ahead of the Delaware and Hudson Railway mainline near exit 2 (NY 32). Past NY 32, I-787 parallels the Hudson River as it heads northward into the heart of downtown Albany, featuring a pair of exits with U.S. Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 at a massive interchange southeast of the Empire State Plaza on the west bank of the Hudson.

North of downtown Albany, I-787 interchanges with Interstate 90 at exit 5 prior to crossing into Menands and meeting NY 32 once more at exit 6 by way of a trumpet interchange. The ramp from the trumpet to NY 32, a 0.28-mile (0.45 km) long roadway, is designated as New York State Route 913T.[4] Farther north in Menands, I-787 intersects NY 378 (exit 7) by way of a near-cloverleaf interchange. In Watervliet, I-787 has one interchange with 23rd Street (exit 8) before reaching another near-cloverleaf interchange with NY 7 and NY 787 (exit 9) in Green Island. From this point, I-787's alignment becomes uncertain.

Northern terminus

Collar City Bridge traveling West

The northern terminus of I-787 is unclear. Appendix E of the 2006 NYSDOT Traffic Data Report places the terminus at 8th Street in Troy, creating an overlap with New York State Route 7 across the Hudson River via the Collar City Bridge.[1] Other sources, including the FHWA National Highway System map of Albany and the official description of signed routes in New York State, identifies the terminus as the NY 7/NY 787 interchange in Green Island.[6][7] Contemporary maps of the Albany area also lack I-787 shields on the Collar City Bridge, signing the roadway only as NY 7.[8][9] In reality, there is generally no signage on NY 7 that would indicate a concurrency between NY 7 and I-787; however, two I-787 shields do exist along NY 7. The first is located on a ramp onto the Collar City Bridge east of the Hudson River.[10] The second is on the westbound side of the bridge.

According to the NYSDOT traffic counts, I-787 is 10.16 miles (16.35 km) long; by limiting I-787 to the section between the Thruway and NY 7, the length is reduced to 9.55 miles (15.37 km).[1]

History

In 1965, what became I-787 was under construction near its southern terminus and marked as proposed along the remainder of its future alignment. The Collar City Bridge was included as part of the proposed route.[2] By 1971, the expressway, signed as I-787, was complete and open to traffic between I-87 and Vine Street (near modern exit 2) as well as between I-90 and NY 378. The missing segments from 1965, with the exception of the Collar City Bridge, remained shown as proposed.[3] By 1973, all of I-787 had been completed north to 23rd Street.[11] Within three years time, the remainder of modern I-787 and the southern extent of NY 787, including all the ramps for modern exit 9, was completed. However, at the time, the NY 7 interchange did not connect to any roads on either end.[12]

In 1981, the Collar City Bridge, stretching from exit 9 east across the Hudson to Troy, was built.[13] By 1985, the right-of-way of I-787 (now NY 787) was extended north from Green Island to the intersection of NY 32 and Tibbits Avenue near the Watervliet city line. The NY 7 freeway west of Green Island, marked as NY 7 Alternate, was under construction.[14] In 1986, NY 7 "Alternate" opened, becoming part of a realigned NY 7.[13] With the opening of the freeway, the layout of exit 9, as well as the remainder of modern I-787, was complete.

Support slip

Northbound ramp that slipped off its supports, supported by temporary tower

In 2005, an elevated section of the northbound Exit 3 off ramp slipped off its supports, causing temporary closure of the ramp and causing disruption of the flow of traffic into the Empire State Plaza. The ramp connects I-787 with the South Mall Arterial. Initially, most roads and ramps near or under the elevated highway were closed, but once temporary piers were in place, most roads reopened. A detour was set up to allow northbound traffic to enter the Plaza, but it required crossing the Hudson River over the Dunn Memorial Bridge and traveling through the city of Rensselaer to get back on the bridge, allowing access into the Plaza.[15] The slip caused the south end of a simple span of the overpass to drop about 2 feet (0.6 m). The pier stands 80 feet (24.4 m) tall at the slippage point.[16] Nobody was hurt, but the woman that discovered the drop was shaken.[16]

Exit list

County Location Mile[1] # Destinations Notes
Albany Albany 0.00 US 9W – Albany At-grade
0.32 1 Lua error in Module:Jct at line 204: attempt to concatenate local 'link' (a nil value). Southbound exit and northbound entrance
0.94 2 NY 32 (South Pearl Street) – Port of Albany
1.97 3A

US 9 south / US 20 east – Rensselaer, Empire Plaza 		Signed as exit 3 northbound
2.40 3B
US 20 west (Madison Avenue) – Port of AlbanyModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated 		Signed as exit 4 northbound
4B
US 9 north (Clinton Street) 		Northbound exit is part of exit 4
4A Colonie Street, Columbia Street No northbound entrance; northbound exit is part of exit 4
3.36 5 I-90 – Buffalo, Boston
Menands 4.20 6 NY 32 – Menands
6.27 7 NY 378 – South Troy, Troy, Watervliet, Loudonville, Menands Signed as exits 7E (east) and 7W (west); serves Hudson Valley Community College and Joseph L. Bruno Stadium
Watervliet 8.91 8 23rd Street – Watervliet, Green Island Connects to NY 2
Green Island 9.55
NY 787 north – Green Island, Cohoes
9.55 9W

NY 7 west to I-87 – Schenectady, Saratoga Springs 		South end of NY 7 overlap
Rensselaer Troy Downtown Troy Northbound exit and southbound entrance; connects to US 4
9E
NY 7 east (Hoosick Street) - Bennington 		Northbound exit and southbound entrance

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Traffic Data Report - NY 427 to NY 908F" (PDF). NYSDOT. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  2. ^ a b New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally. Rand McNally. 1965.
  3. ^ a b New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Humble Oil & Refining Company. 1971.
  4. ^ a b "Traffic Data Report - NY 908F to NY 953B" (PDF). NYSDOT. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  5. ^ a b "Interstate 787 Southbound @ AARoads.com". Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  6. ^ National Highway System - Albany, NY (PDF) (Map). FHWA. 2003. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  7. ^ "Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Bicycle Routes in New York State" (PDF). NYSDOT. 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ The Road Atlas 2007 (Map). 13/16" = 3 miles. Cartography by Rand McNally. Rand McNally. p. 69. § SH5. ISBN 0-528-95824-0.
  9. ^ New York (Map). 1" = 3 miles. Cartography by American Map. American Map. 2007. § V9. ISBN 0-8416-5418-2.
  10. ^ "New York Routes - I-787/NY 7 overlap". Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  11. ^ Northeastern United States With Interstate Strip Maps (Map) (1973-74 ed.). Cartography by Universal Printing Company. Standard Oil. 1973.
  12. ^ USGS Topographic Map - Watervliet, New York. Drawn 1971; revised 1978 using data from 1976. Accessed on 2007-08-22.
  13. ^ a b National Bridge Inventory, a database compiled by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, available at www.nationalbridges.com. Accessed 2007-08-22.
  14. ^ New York (Map). Rand McNally. 1985. ISBN 0-528-91040-X.
  15. ^ Woodruff, Cathy (2005-08-02). "A slow road to ramp repairs". Times Union (Albany). pp. A1. Retrieved 2009-03-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b Nearing, Brian (2005-07-29). "`Good' ramp goes bad". Times Union (Albany). pp. A1. Retrieved 2009-03-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
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