New York State Route 85
Encyclopedia
New York State Route 85 (NY 85) is a state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in Albany County, New York
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is 26.49 miles (42.63 km) long and runs from County Route 351 (CR 351) and CR 353 in Rensselaerville
Rensselaerville, New York
Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer...

 to Interstate 90
Interstate 90 in New York
Interstate 90 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, I-90 extends from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line at Canaan...

 (I-90) exit 4 in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. It also has a loop route
Loop route
A loop route is a highway or other major road that extends out from a typically longer, more important parents road to enter and circle a large city. A loop can function as a bypass for through traffic and also to service outlying suburbs....

, NY 85A
New York State Route 85A
New York State Route 85A is an east–west state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It serves as a , two-lane alternate route of NY 85 through the town of New Scotland, running from the hamlet of New Salem to the hamlet of New Scotland...

, which connects NY 85 to the village of Voorheesville
Voorheesville, New York
Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named after a railroad attorney, Alonzo B...

. The portion of NY 85 north of NY 140
New York State Route 140
New York State Route 140 is an east–west state highway located entirely within Albany County, New York, in the United States. The highway runs for from NY 85 near the hamlet of Slingerlands to NY 443 in the hamlet of Delmar...

 to the Bethlehem
Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 33,656 at the 2010 census. The town is south of Albany. Bethlehem includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands, Glenmont, Selkirk, South and North Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town...

–Albany town/city line is known as the Slingerlands Bypass. From there north to I-90, the road is a limited-access, four-lane highway named the Crosstown Arterial.

Route description

NY 85 starts in the hamlet of Rensselaerville within the town of the same name
Rensselaerville, New York
Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer...

 at the Ten Mile Creek bridge, the terminus of CR 351. It proceeds through Rensselaerville and makes a right, heading towards the Westerlo
Westerlo, New York
Westerlo is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,361 at the 2010 census.The town is on the south border of Albany County.- History :...

 hamlet of Reidsville. Prior to reaching Reidsville it bears left, and proceeds to a hill known to locals as the "Letter-S", named after the old-routing of the highway. On the "Letter-S", NY 85 is concurrent with NY 443
New York State Route 443
New York State Route 443 is an east–west state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. The route begins at an intersection with NY 30 in the town of Schoharie and ends later at a junction with U.S. Route 9W and US 20 in the city of Albany...

, which proceeds to Berne
Berne, New York
Berne is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 2,794 at the 2010 census. The town is at the west border of Albany County.- History :...

 and Schoharie
Schoharie (village), New York
Schoharie is a village in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The population was 1,030 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schoharie County...

 westbound and to Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 eastbound. At the bottom of the "Letter-S", by the Stewarts Gas Station, Route 85 turns east, splitting from Route 443. NY 85 then proceeds northeastward to the New Salem Hill. NY 157
New York State Route 157
New York State Route 157 is a state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It runs from an intersection with NY 156 near the hamlet of Berne to a junction with NY 85 in the hamlet of New Salem. NY 157 is a two-lane, narrow, winding route that runs along an...

 splits off prior to the New Salem Hill, providing access to Thacher Park.

At the bottom of New Salem Hill is the hamlet of New Salem
New Salem, New York
New Salem is a hamlet in the town of New Scotland, Albany County, New York. It is located in a valley at the foot of the Helderberg Escarpment along New York State Route 85. A local fair and car show is held every year in this small hamlet...

 within the town of New Scotland
New Scotland, New York
New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 8,648 at the 2010 census.The town is southwest of Albany, New York, the state capital. New Scotland is centrally located in the county.-History:...

. NY 85A
New York State Route 85A
New York State Route 85A is an east–west state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It serves as a , two-lane alternate route of NY 85 through the town of New Scotland, running from the hamlet of New Salem to the hamlet of New Scotland...

 splits off here and reunites just east of Voorheesville. NY 85 proceeds through suburban Slingerlands
Slingerlands, New York
Slingerlands is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located immediately west of Delmar and near the New Scotland town-line and south of the Albany city-limits. It is a suburb of Albany...

 until it reaches a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

 at NY 140
New York State Route 140
New York State Route 140 is an east–west state highway located entirely within Albany County, New York, in the United States. The highway runs for from NY 85 near the hamlet of Slingerlands to NY 443 in the hamlet of Delmar...

 and New Scotland Avenue. Here, NY 85 leaves New Scotland Avenue to follow the Slingerland Bypass. It proceeds as a four-lane highway through the town of Bethlehem
Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 33,656 at the 2010 census. The town is south of Albany. Bethlehem includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands, Glenmont, Selkirk, South and North Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town...

 with a series of roundabouts providing access to local roads. NY 85 remains four lanes wide until it reaches the Blessing Road roundabout, where it narrows to two lanes until reaching the city limits in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

.

Within the city of Albany, NY 85 follows the Crosstown Arterial, a four-lane limited-access highway serving the western part of the city. Between U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 in New York
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 from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains. US 20 is the longest...

 (US 20, named Western Avenue) and I-90 (where NY 85 ends), NY 85 is networked with Washington Avenue and the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus
The W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus is an office park in western Albany, New York, United States that houses sixteen New York State Government office buildings. The land totals roughly and over 3 million square feet of office space, and about 7,000 state employees work there...

 ring road. There are also exits for Lincoln Avenue (only accessible from the eastbound direction) and Krumkill Road. NY 85 and the Arterial terminate at a trumpet interchange with I-90 northwest of downtown Albany.

Origins

The path of modern NY 85 west of Slingerlands
Slingerlands, New York
Slingerlands is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located immediately west of Delmar and near the New Scotland town-line and south of the Albany city-limits. It is a suburb of Albany...

 roughly follows that of the Albany, Rensselaerville, and Schoharie Plank Road, a plank road
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...

 established to connect the city of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 with the town of Schoharie
Schoharie (town), New York
Schoharie is a town in Schoharie County, New York. The population was 3,299 at the 2000 census. The village is named after a native word for driftwood.The Town of Schoharie has a village, also called Schoharie...

 by way of passing through Rensselaerville
Rensselaerville, New York
Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer...

. The Albany, Schoharie, and Rensselaerville Plank Road Company was organized on October 10, 1849, with Lansing Pruyn as president. On March 25, 1850, the company was given a 30-year charter; and the road from Lydius Street in Albany (today Madison Avenue) to the hamlet of New Salem
New Salem, New York
New Salem is a hamlet in the town of New Scotland, Albany County, New York. It is located in a valley at the foot of the Helderberg Escarpment along New York State Route 85. A local fair and car show is held every year in this small hamlet...

—now New Scotland Avenue in the city of Albany and New Scotland Road in Bethlehem
Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 33,656 at the 2010 census. The town is south of Albany. Bethlehem includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands, Glenmont, Selkirk, South and North Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town...

 and New Scotland
New Scotland, New York
New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 8,648 at the 2010 census.The town is southwest of Albany, New York, the state capital. New Scotland is centrally located in the county.-History:...

—and the portion of the road from Bernville to Gallupville were planked with wooden boards. Portions of the plank road were already long established roads, such as the Beaverdam (or Beaver Dam) Road in western Albany County near New Salem, which had already existed for quite some time prior to moving to an easier grade around New Salem in 1806. The plank road/turnpike spurred the development of many places along its path, such as a hotel at what would evolve into the hamlet of Hurstville
Hurstville, New York
Hurstville is a former hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, New York. Today it is part of the city of Albany. Hurstville was located in a bend of the Albany, Rensselaerville, and Schoharie Turnpike at the intersections with Whitehall and Krumkill roads; just outside the city limits of...

 and a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 at what would become the hamlet of Slingerlands.

In 1854 the state authorized the fiscally unsound plank road company to abandon or sell portions of the road and to turn other sections into a turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

 and charge tolls. The section from New Salem east to the hamlet of New Scotland subsequently had its planks removed and the portion from Bernville to Gallupville was also abandoned. In 1881 the charter was renewed for another 30 years. In 1896 the turnpike company opposed the construction of a railroad that would have been in direct competition to the turnpike from Albany to Schoharie.

Designation

In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 7, an unsigned legislative route
Legislative route
In United States, a legislative route or legislative highway is a highway defined by laws passed in a state legislature. The numbering of such highways may or may not correspond to the numbers familiar to the public as part of the state, U.S. highway, and Interstate highway systems...

 extending from Binghamton to Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

 via Oneonta and Schoharie
Schoharie (village), New York
Schoharie is a village in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The population was 1,030 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schoharie County...

. Route 7 entered the town of New Scotland
New Scotland, New York
New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 8,648 at the 2010 census.The town is southwest of Albany, New York, the state capital. New Scotland is centrally located in the county.-History:...

 on what is now NY 157
New York State Route 157
New York State Route 157 is a state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It runs from an intersection with NY 156 near the hamlet of Berne to a junction with NY 85 in the hamlet of New Salem. NY 157 is a two-lane, narrow, winding route that runs along an...

 and followed it to its eastern end at modern NY 85. At this point, the route turned onto the old Albany–Schoharie plank road and continued east to Albany on New Scotland Road and New Scotland Avenue. The section of legislative Route 7 east of modern NY 157 was not assigned a posted designation until the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York when it became part of NY 85, which initially extended from NY 81
New York State Route 81
New York State Route 81 is an east–west state highway in the Capital District of New York, United States. The western terminus of the route is at NY 145 in the hamlet of Cooksburg within the town of Rensselaerville. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 9W in the town of Coxsackie...

 in the hamlet of Oak Hill in the town of Durham
Durham, New York
Durham is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 2,725 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Durham, Connecticut.The Town of Durham is in the northwest corner of the county.- History :...

 to US 20 in Albany.

When it was first assigned, the route followed Makley and Siebert Roads north from Oak Hill to Medusa, then continued northeast to Westerlo on County Routes 351, 402, 404, and 401. Past Westerlo, NY 85 was routed on what is now NY 143
New York State Route 143
New York State Route 143 is a state highway in New York. The highway runs from the town of Westerlo to the hamlet of Coeymans. Located entirely in Albany County, NY 143 is a two-lane highway its entire length.-Route description:...

 to the Delaware Turnpike near Reidsville, where it joined its current alignment. Northeast of Slingerlands
Slingerlands, New York
Slingerlands is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located immediately west of Delmar and near the New Scotland town-line and south of the Albany city-limits. It is a suburb of Albany...

, NY 85 followed New Scotland Avenue into downtown Albany, where it terminated at US 20. The portion of the route between Medusa and Reidsville was realigned ca. 1936 to serve the hamlet of Rensselaerville
Rensselaerville, New York
Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer...

. Instead of heading east from Medusa, NY 85 was rerouted to follow CR 352, CR 360, CR 359, and CR 353 north to Rensselaerville, where it met its modern routing. NY 85 was truncated to Rensselaerville ca. 1938.

Construction on the Slingerlands Bypass, a new highway bypassing the hamlet of Slingerlands, began in the early 1960s. The first section of the bypass from Washington Avenue to Buckingham Drive (the Krumkill Road exit) was completed by 1964. The remainder of the highway was open by 1968 as a realignment of NY 85. Between Blessing Road and the Albany city line, the bypass was constructed as a two-lane highway. This section was originally planned to be four lanes wide as well, but was constructed with only two lanes due to community activism by an anti-sprawl group known as the Bethlehem Lincoln Republicans in the early 1960s. The old alignment of NY 85 along New Scotland Road from where NY 85 turns onto the bypass to the Albany city line (a distance of 0.38 mile or 0.6115492 km as of 2008) is now designated as NY 910E, an unsigned reference route.

A four-lane extension of the bypass was constructed in 2007 between NY 140
New York State Route 140
New York State Route 140 is an east–west state highway located entirely within Albany County, New York, in the United States. The highway runs for from NY 85 near the hamlet of Slingerlands to NY 443 in the hamlet of Delmar...

 and Maher Road. Four roundabouts were built, the southernmost where NY 85 currently meets NY 140 at Cherry Avenue Extension. After the roadway opened to traffic on November 7, 2007, NY 85 was rerouted onto the newly constructed portion of the bypass while the section of New Scotland Road between NY 140 and Maher Road became part of an extended NY 910E. The new highway, four lanes divided, meets the existing highway portion of the bypass at the same Maher Road, at the third roundabout.

NY 85 was once proposed to be extended to the unbuilt I-687
Interstate 687
Interstate 687 was a proposed auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Capital District region of New York in the United States. The highway would have connected I-90 in Albany to I-87 near Albany International Airport in Colonie...

.

NY 85A

NY 85A
New York State Route 85A
New York State Route 85A is an east–west state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It serves as a , two-lane alternate route of NY 85 through the town of New Scotland, running from the hamlet of New Salem to the hamlet of New Scotland...

 (5.54 miles or 8.92 km) is an alternate route of NY 85 in New Scotland
New Scotland, New York
New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 8,648 at the 2010 census.The town is southwest of Albany, New York, the state capital. New Scotland is centrally located in the county.-History:...

, accessing Voorheesville
Voorheesville, New York
Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named after a railroad attorney, Alonzo B...

. It was assigned ca. 1932.

Major intersections

|-
|rowspan=7|Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...


|colspan=3 align="center"|West end of freeway section

External links

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