Editing Interstate 87 (New York) (section)

===Designation and early construction===
{{redirect|New York State Route 1B|the original alignment of NY 1B in downstate New York|New York State Route 1B (1932–1941)}}
{{See also|New York State Thruway}}
[[File:Major Deegan Expy BGS.jpg|thumb|right|Overhead signage at the northern terminus of the Major Deegan Expressway]]
The origins of the Major Deegan Expressway date back to 1936 when the [[Regional Plan Association]] concluded that in order to relieve [[New York City]]'s traffic problems, a limited-access, truck-accessible expressway should be built on the west side of [[the Bronx]]. This route would connect the brand-new [[Robert F. Kennedy Bridge|Triborough Bridge]] to the proposed [[New York State Thruway]] in [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]]. A {{convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=on}} section of the expressway from the bridge to the [[Grand Concourse (Bronx)|Grand Concourse]] was completed in April 1939. The highway was adorned with Whitestone-style light posts placed every {{convert|75|ft|m}} of the six-lane highway, each of which were {{convert|12|ft|m}} in width.<ref name="nyc">{{cite web |url=http://www.nycroads.com/roads/major-deegan/ |first=Steve |last=Anderson |title=Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) |work=NYCRoads |access-date=November 17, 2009}}</ref> The expressway was designated as '''New York State Route&nbsp;1B''' ('''NY&nbsp;1B''') {{circa|1941}};<ref>{{cite map |title=New York Info-Map |publisher=[[Gulf Oil Company]] |year=1940 |cartography=[[Rand McNally and Company]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |publisher=[[H.M. Gousha Company]] |url=http://www.nycroads.com/history/1941_metro-1/ |title=New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn) |cartography=H.M. Gousha Company |year=1941 |access-date=June 28, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |publisher=H.M. Gousha Company |url=http://www.nycroads.com/history/1941_metro-4/ |title=New York (Bronx and Westchester) |cartography=H.M. Gousha Company |year=1941 |access-date=June 28, 2009}}</ref> however, the designation was removed by 1947.<ref>{{cite map |title=Official Highway Map of New York State |publisher=[[State of New York Department of Public Works]] |edition=1947–48 |cartography=[[General Drafting]]}}</ref> In 1945, public works planner [[Robert Moses]] proposed extending the highway to the proposed Thruway. Construction on the extension began in 1950, and the new route was opened in 1956.<ref name="nyc" /> The Major Deegan Expressway is named for [[William Francis Deegan]], who died in 1932. He was an architect, a major in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]], and a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] political leader in New York City.<ref>{{cite book |title = History in Asphalt: The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Mames, Borough of the Bronx, New York City |last = McNamara |first = John |publisher = Bronx County Historical Society |year = 1984 |isbn = 978-0-941980-16-6 |location = Bronx, NY |page =67 |oclc = 10696584 }}</ref>

I-87 was assigned on August 14, 1957, as part of the establishment of the Interstate Highway System.<ref name="1957map">{{cite map |author = [[American Association of State Highway Officials]] |url = http://commons.wikimedia/org/wiki/File:Interstate_Highway_plan_August_14,_1957.jpg |title = Official route numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |date = August 14, 1957 |scale = Scale not given |location = Washington, DC |publisher = American Association of State Highway Officials |via = [[Wikimedia Commons]] }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The highway initially utilized the preexisting New York State Thruway from Albany to Newburgh and in lower Westchester County, and the Major Deegan Expressway in New York City. From Newburgh to the Elmsford area, I-87 was to follow [[Hudson River Expressway|a new highway]] running parallel to US&nbsp;9 northward along the eastern bank of the [[Hudson River]] to [[Fishkill, New York|Fishkill]]. I-87 would then have followed the proposed I-84 across the Hudson to rejoin the Thruway outside of Newburgh. After the Hudson River Expressway proposal was cancelled in the 1960s, the alignment of I-87 was shifted farther east to follow a newly completed freeway in the Route 22 corridor that started at I-287 in White Plains, then cut north through the extreme southwest corner of [[Connecticut]] before reentering New York and reaching I-84 at Brewster. I-87 then followed I-84 west to Newburgh. In 1970, the I-87 designation was shifted to the New York State Thruway between Newburgh and the Deegan Expressway; its previous alignment between Brewster and White Plains was redesignated as [[Interstate 684|I-684]]. Meanwhile, all of the Adirondack Northway, the portion of I-87 slated to extend from Albany north to the Canada–United States border, had yet to be built.<ref name="1958map">{{cite map |title = New York with Special Maps of Putnam–Rockland–Westchester Counties and Finger Lakes Region |author1 = [[Esso]] |author2 = [[General Drafting]] |edition = 1958 |year = 1958 |publisher = Esso }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref><ref name="1960map">{{cite map |title = New York and New Jersey Tourgide<!--sic--> Map |author1 = [[Gulf Oil Company]] |author2 = [[Rand McNally and Company]] |year = 1960 |publisher = Gulf Oil Company }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> Fuller Road Alternate, the spur leading south from the Adirondack Northway to [[U.S. Route 20 in New York|US&nbsp;20]], was originally intended to be part of the Southern Albany Expressway, a proposed highway which would have connected the Northway with [[Interstate 787|I-787]] and run parallel to the Thruway between exits&nbsp;23 and&nbsp;24.<ref name="Southern Albany Expressway">{{cite news |last = Johnson |first = Carl |date = March 8, 2011 |title = The Highway that Was Almost Buried Under Washington Park |url = http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/03/08/the-highway-that-was-almost-buried-under-washingto |work = All Over Albany |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923085939/http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/03/08/the-highway-that-was-almost-buried-under-washingto |archive-date = September 23, 2015 |url-status = live |df = mdy-all }}</ref>

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The Northway was built in segments, which became I-87 as they were completed and linked to the preexisting route. Construction began in the late 1950s on the portion of the Northway between the Thruway and [[New York State Route 7|NY&nbsp;7]] near [[Latham, New York|Latham]].<ref>{{cite map |title = New York with Special Maps of Putnam–Rockland–Westchester Counties and Finger Lakes Region |author1 = Esso |author2 = General Drafting |edition = 1955–56 |year = 1954 |publisher = Esso }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> This segment was open to traffic by 1960, by which time work had begun on two additional segments from Latham to [[Malta, New York|Malta]] (at [[New York State Route 67|NY&nbsp;67]]) and from US&nbsp;9 in northern Saratoga County to US&nbsp;9 and [[New York State Route 149|NY&nbsp;149]] midway between [[Glens Falls, New York|Glens Falls]] and Lake George village.<ref name="1960map" /> The expressway was completed between Latham and [[Clifton Park, New York|Clifton Park]] ([[New York State Route 146|NY&nbsp;146]]) and from US&nbsp;9 south of Glens Falls to the Hudson River {{circa|1961}}.<ref name="1961map">{{cite map |title = New York and Metropolitan New York |author1 = [[Sunoco]] |author2 = [[H.M. Gousha Company]] |year = 1961 |edition = 1961–62 |publisher = Sunoco }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> The US&nbsp;9–NY&nbsp;149 section of the highway was finished on May 26, 1961, at a total cost of $9.5&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|9500000|1961}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref>{{cite news |title = Governor to Cut Ribbon on Northway Link |newspaper = The Warrensburg News |date = May 25, 1961 |page = 1 }}</ref> Work on the Latham–Malta segment concluded on November 22 of that year with the opening of a $6.6-million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|6600000|1961}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) piece between NY&nbsp;146 and NY&nbsp;67.<ref>{{cite news |title = New 7-Mile Section of Northway Opened |newspaper = The Warrensburg News |date = November 30, 1961 |at = sec. 2, p. 3 }}</ref> When the Latham–Malta segment was opened, it featured one of the few railroad grade crossings on an Interstate Highway, just south of the Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge over the Mohawk River. This at-grade crossing was removed within a couple of years when the railroad line was cut backward and the crossing was no longer needed.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/TroySchenectady1.html#Interstate87 |title = The Troy & Schenectady Railroad, Now It Is A Bike Path |access-date = December 8, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111207021149/http://www.kinglyheirs.com/NewYorkStateRailroads/TroySchenectady1.html#Interstate87 |archive-date = December 7, 2011 |df = mdy-all }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> Construction on the portion of highway between the two segments began {{circa|lk=no|1962}}.<ref name="1961map" /><ref name="1962map">{{cite map |title = New York with Sight-Seeing Guide |author1 = Esso |author2 = General Drafting |year = 1962 |publisher = Esso }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}</ref> The {{convert|1.8|mi|km|adj=on}} part between [[New York State Route 9P|NY&nbsp;9P]] and [[New York State Route 50|NY&nbsp;50]] near [[Saratoga Springs, New York|Saratoga Springs]] was finished on July 19, 1963,<ref name="1963er">{{cite news |title = Two Major Expressways Are Half-Way Completed |newspaper = Evening Recorder |date = July 17, 1963 |location = Amsterdam, NY |page = 8 }}</ref> and the entire NY&nbsp;67–US&nbsp;9 segment was completed by 1964.<ref>{{cite map |title = New York and Metropolitan New York |author1 = [[Sinclair Oil Corporation]] |year = 1964 |author2 = Rand McNally and Company |publisher = Sinclair Oil Corporation }}{{full citation needed|date= August 2015}}</ref> An extension linking NY&nbsp;149 to NY&nbsp;9N south of Lake George village opened in mid-1963.<ref name="1963er" />

By July 1963, the Northway was completed from the Canada–United States border south to exit&nbsp;34 at [[Keeseville, New York|Keeseville]].<ref name="1963er" /> Additionally, the existing Albany–Lake George section was extended slightly by May 1966 to serve the northern part of Lake George. At the time, I-87 curved around the western outskirts of the village to end at NY&nbsp;9N north of the village<ref>{{cite news |first = Margaret |last = Lamy |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/08/archives/via-the-northway-big-gaps-are-being-closed-in-the-link-between-the.html |title = Big Gaps Are Being Closed in the Link Between the Thruway and Canada |access-date = May 13, 2009 |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = May 18, 1966 }}</ref> on a highway built {{circa|lk=no|1964}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title = Structure 1033530 |author = [[Federal Highway Administration]] |journal = [[National Bridge Inventory]] |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |year = 2008 }}</ref> In mid-1966, the state opened a $23-million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|23000000|1966}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) section of the Northway between Lake George and exit&nbsp;26 at [[Pottersville, New York|Pottersville]].<ref name="award" /> I-87 was reconfigured slightly near Lake George as a result: instead of heading east to NY&nbsp;9N, it continued north on a parallel routing to US&nbsp;9.<ref name="1968map" /> The Northway's former routing to NY&nbsp;9N, known infrequently today as the Lake George Connector, is now NY&nbsp;912Q, an unsigned [[reference route (New York)|reference route]] {{convert|0.66|mi|km}} in length. NY&nbsp;912Q has one intermediate interchange with US&nbsp;9.<ref name="2011tvr" /> On March 5, 1967, the Lake George–Pottersville portion of I-87 was chosen as America's Most Scenic New Highway of 1966 by ''[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]''. It became the second New York highway to win the award, as a stretch of [[New York State Route 17|NY&nbsp;17]] in [[Broome County, New York|Broome]] and [[Delaware County, New York|Delaware]] counties was selected for the title in 1964.<ref name="award">{{cite news |title = Cite Northway; Rocky Accepts Award at Capitol Ceremony |newspaper = Warrensburg–Lake George News |date = March 9, 1967 |pages = 2, 16 }}</ref>