Wikipedia

Interstate 990

Interstate 990(I-990) is anauxiliary Interstate Highwaylocated entirely within the town ofAmherstinErie County, New York,in the United States. It runs in a roughly north–south direction for 6.35 miles (10.22 km) through the southwestern and central parts of Amherst from an interchange withI-290north ofBuffaloto an intersection withNew York Route 263(NY 263, named Millersport Highway) south ofLockport.The highway serves as a connection between Buffalo, theUniversity at Buffalo,and Lockport (via NY 263 and NY 78). LikeI-590in nearbyRochester,I-990 does not physically meetI-90,its parentInterstate Highway;instead, the highway makes the connection by way of a "sibling" highway (I-290). I-990 is the highest numbered Interstate Highway in the US.

Interstate 990 marker
Interstate 990
Staff Sergeant William R. Wilson III Memorial Highway
Lockport Expressway
Map
I-990 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route ofI-90
Maintained byNYSDOT
Length6.35 mi[1](10.22 km)
ExistedJanuary 1979[2]–present
HistoryFirst section opened in 1980s[3][4]
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South endI-290inAmherst
North endNY 263in Amherst
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountiesErie
Highway system
←NY 962J→NY 990L

Plans for an expressway between Buffalo and Lockport were proposed as early as the late 1960s. As originally laid out, the highway would run for 12 miles (19 km) and end in Lockport's eastern suburbs. By the time the road was added to the Interstate Highway System and designated I-990 in 1979, the proposal had been scaled back to a four-mile (6.4 km) freeway linking I-290 to North French Road. The route was constructed and opened to traffic in two stages during the 1980s. An extension to NY 263 was finished in 1990 and officially added to I-990 three years later.

Description

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I-990 northbound from the Amherst pedestrian bridge

I-990 begins at asemi-directional T interchange(exit 4) withI-290(Youngmann Expressway) in theBuffalosuburb ofAmherst.After leaving the interchange, I-990, known as the Lockport Expressway, proceeds northward along the western edge of theUniversity at Buffalo's Amherst Campus as a four-lane divided expressway. It generally parallels Sweet Home Road (unsignedNY 952T) to exit 1, a northbound-only interchange providing access to Audubon Parkway by way of a two-lane connector to the campus. From here, I-990 gradually bends northeastward, leaving the vicinity of the campus and entering apartial cloverleaf interchange(exit 2) connecting to Sweet Home Road.[5]

The Interstate Highway continues to turn to the northeast as it heads away from exit 2, crossing overEllicott Creekand Dodge Road (County Route 45). I-990 expands to six lanes just as it enters the nearby exit 3, which connects to Dodge Road and the northern end of the Audubon Parkway. The freeway briefly runs eastward from the junction, paralleling Dodge Road into thehamletofGetzville,where the expressway passes overNY 270(Campbell Boulevard). Just after the NY 270 crossing, I-990 bends northward once again and enters exit 4, adiamond interchangewith North French Road (CR 299).[5]

Past North French Road, I-990 bends back to the northeast, crossing Hopkins Road (CR 87) as it approaches an at-grade intersection withNY 263(Millersport Highway). The junction serves as I-990's exit 5 and its northern terminus. Traffic approaching the junction on northbound I-990 is diverted onto what was intended to be a single-lane exit ramp leading to NY 263. A small stub of highway exists east of the exitgore.[5]

History

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I-990's northern terminus, featuring the incomplete stub at NY 263, seen from the Hopkins Road overpass

On October 30, 1968, theNew York State Department of Transportation(NYSDOT) nominated 20 proposed highways to be added to theInterstate Highway Systemas part of a 1,500-mile (2,400 km) nationwide system expansion authorized by theFederal-Aid Highway Act of 1968.One of the submitted roads was the Lockport Expressway, a 12-mile (19 km), $22-millionlimited-access highwayextending in a northeast–southwest direction between I-290 north ofBuffaloand a proposedNiagara Falls–Rochesterfreeway nearLockport.[6]When the city of Niagara Falls released its Regional Highway Plan for the Buffalo–Niagara Falls area in 1971, the Niagara Falls–Rochester highway was scrapped; as a result, the north end of the Lockport Expressway was moved to a point onNY 31east of Lockport. In between I-290 and NY 31, the highway would intersect the proposedBelt ExpresswayandNY 78(Transit Road).[7]

While the outer belt proposal was mostly dropped, the plans to build the Lockport Expressway gained traction in January 1979 when the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) portion between I-290 and North French Road was added to the Interstate Highway System and designated as I-990.[2][8]The remainder of the original 12-mile (19 km) route was excluded due to a lack of funding.[9]Construction began in 1980 on the part south of Sweet Home Road,[3][9]and the highway was opened to traffic by 1985. The section leading northeast to North French Road was built during the mid-1980s[3][4]and completed by 1990.[10]In 1986, NYSDOT began to evaluate ways to improve the highways surrounding the northern terminus of I-990. One of the potential options was an extension of the freeway toNY 263(Millersport Highway) southwest of Lockport.[11]This option was ultimately selected, and the new section of the freeway was opened to traffic on December 21, 1990.[12]It was officially added to I-990 on October 22, 1993.[13]

In June 2013, I-990 was renamed from the Lockport Expressway to the Staff Sergeant William R. Wilson III Memorial Highway. This is in honor of his contributions to the US military, which included training Afghan soldiers and police to take over the country's security. Staff Sergeant Wilson also served two combat deployments to Iraq as part ofOperation Iraqi Freedom.As a result, he was posthumously awarded theBronze Star MedalandPurple Heart.He also received theNational Defense Service Medal,Iraq Campaign Medal,and theAfghanistan Campaign Medal,as well as theArmy Service RibbonandOverseas Service Ribbon.The bill to rename I-990 was sponsored by State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Raymond Walter. Signage is now displayed at each terminus showing the new name.[14]

Exit list

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The entire route is inAmherst,Erie County.

mi[15]kmExitDestinationsNotes
0.000.00–I-290–BuffaloSouthern terminus; exit 4 on I-290
1.342.161Audubon Parkway –University at BuffaloNorth CampusNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
2.023.252Sweet Home Road (NY 952T)Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north) southbound
3.074.943Audubon Parkway –University at BuffaloNorth Campus
4.627.444North French Road (CR 299)
6.4310.355NY 263(Millersport Highway)Northern terminus;at-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022)."Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways".FHWA Route Log and Finder List.Federal Highway Administration.RetrievedDecember 8,2022.
  2. ^ab"2 highways get approval".Tonawanda News.North Tonawanda, NY.United Press International.January 10, 1979. p. 7.
  3. ^abcI Love New YorkTourism Map(Map). Cartography byRand McNally and Company.State of New York.1981.
  4. ^abNew York(Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1985.ISBN0-528-91040-X.
  5. ^abcMicrosoft;Nokia."overview map of I-990"(Map).Bing Maps.Microsoft.RetrievedSeptember 13,2012.
  6. ^"State highway program... the status and the outlook".The Geneva Times.November 1, 1968. p. 8.
  7. ^Regional Highway Plan for Buffalo and Niagara Falls(Map). City of Niagara Falls. 1971.RetrievedJune 3,2009.
  8. ^"New highway hearing set".Tonawanda News.North Tonawanda, NY. United Press International. January 4, 1977. p. 6.
  9. ^abSalamone, Chris (January 11, 1980). "Plans for new Amherst road outlined".Tonawanda News.North Tonawanda, NY. p. 4.
  10. ^Upstate New York City Street Maps(Map) (1st ed.). 1 "= 1/2 mile. Cartography by DeLorme Mapping.DeLorme Mapping.1990. p. 2. § D1.ISBN0-89933-300-1.
  11. ^Reilly, Ed (April 10, 1986). "Impact statement slated on Lockport Expressway".Tonawanda News.North Tonawanda, NY. p. 3.
  12. ^McCarthy, Robert J. (December 20, 1990). "New Link In Lockport Route To Open 4-Lane Highway To Buffalo Only 2 Miles Shy Of Goal".The Buffalo News.
  13. ^"Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Standing Committee on Highways"(PDF).American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.October 23, 1993. p. 7. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 14, 2006.RetrievedJuly 18,2010.
  14. ^Sisti, Maria (June 22, 2013)."I-990 Renamed for Getzville Soldier Killed in Afghanistan".WGRZ-TV.Archived fromthe originalon October 12, 2013.RetrievedOctober 13,2013.
  15. ^"2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State"(PDF).New York State Department of Transportation.June 16, 2009. p. 291. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 27, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 1,2010.
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