Editing Hornell, New York (section)

==Highway construction==

===Route 36 Arterial===
Hornell's central layout changed significantly when the [[New York Route 36]] arterial was built about 1972. Prior to that, Route 36, Hornell's main north–south highway, was routed along Seneca Street (to the north) and Canisteo Street (to the south). Neither of these streets were adequate for the increased automobile and truck traffic which accompanied the decline of the railroad, and they could not be easily expanded. Canisteo Street also had a significant bottleneck (originally the "Canisteo Subway" on the Hornell-Canisteo trolley, pictured on a postcard, above)  where the route went under the Erie Railroad tracks, just south of downtown. Route 36 between Hornell and Canisteo, also inadequate, could not be expanded due to the adjacent Canisteo River.

The decision was made to replace the route with an arterial, west of Seneca Street on the north side, crossing the downtown and exiting Hornell east of Canisteo Street on the south side. "The highway required the demolition of 245 houses and many commercial buildings, split the city in half, and sacrificed Hornell's Union Park."<ref name=Cornish/> The four-lane route was continued to Canisteo. Unconnected fragments of the former Route 36 from Hornell to Canisteo survive; in Hornell it starts from East Avenue, east of the river, and heading north from the [[Canisteo (village), New York|Village of Canisteo]] it is today Dineen/McBurney Road.

The impact of the relocation of Route 36 on central Hornell was profound. Much of the south end of the downtown was destroyed, either physically or economically. Seneca Street and Broadway, formerly important commercial streets, became deserted side streets. (See [[United States Post Office (Hornell, New York)]].) It is not fondly remembered, and it was something wanted by the trucking industry and its customers, not the local working class.

===The Southern Tier Expressway (New York Route 17, now Interstate 86)===
When the decision was made in the 1960s to upgrade the western portion of [[New York Route 17]] to expressway status, it was decided to route the expressway through the Hornell area, as it was considered to have more prospects for development than [[Greenwood, New York|Greenwood]] and [[Jasper, New York|Jasper]], along the old route (now [[New York Route 417]]). [[Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania–New York)|Interstate 86]] begins (or ends) in Pennsylvania, running from [[I-90]] near [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], across New York's [[Southern Tier]] to [[Windsor, NY]]. It crosses [[New York State Route 36]] between Hornell and [[Arkport, New York|Arkport]]. It is today (2023) Hornell's main highway.