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Interstate 87, the New York State Thruway, is also known as the Major Deegan Expressway when it runs through New York City. I-87 was opened in 1956, before the Interstate Highway System was started. The expressway was named for civil servant, architect, and member of the Army Corps of Engineers, William Francis Deegan. This Expressway section received its designation as Interstate 87 in 1958. From the New York City line to the junction with Interstate 90 at Albany is part of the New York State Thruway. North of Albany, Interstate 87 is known as the Adirondack Northway, or simply the Northway. The Northway section was given the esteemed designation of America's Most Scenic Highway by Parade Magazine. An extension of the original route to Suffern, NY is the Tappan Zee Bridge. Built in 1955 with a 50 year life span, the Tappan Zee could be a vehicle disaster in waiting. Not counting the Canadian border crossing, I-87 is longest Interstate Highway that does not cross any state lines. |
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Interstate 87 is a 333.49-mile intrastate interstate highway located entirely within the state of New York. Its southern end intersects with Interstate 278 in New York City's Bronx Borough and its northern end is in Champlain, New York at the Canadian border.
Officially speaking, both the Cross Westchester Expressway and New England Thruway are also New York State Thruways, but only the I-87 stretch running up to Buffalo is truly the New York State Thruway.
On October 9, 1997, a section of the New York State Thruway was closed at EXIT 5 when a gasoline truck exploded underneath a thruway overpass, killing a motorist and destroying the overpass. Eleven days later, two temporary bridges, each carrying two lanes of northbound and southbound traffic, were installed at the location. This allowed traffic to move through the area while work crews constructed a permanent overpass. This was not the first time that a structural failure on the New York State Thruway took the lives of motorists. On the morning of April 5, 1987, a 330-foot section of the 540-foot-long bridge spanning Schoharie Creek near Amsterdam collapsed, taking the lives of ten motorists. The collapse, which involved a steel-plate girder bridge covered with steel-reinforced concrete, took over several stages over a span of ninety minutes. Inundated with two days' worth of torrential rains, the fast-moving Schoarie Creek, which was now 30 feet deep instead of the usual ten-foot depth, ravaged the bridge pilings. The bridge, which was built in 1956, was rehabilitated in 1982 and passed inspection in 1986.
On February 22nd., and September 19th., 2004 a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint being operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, approximately 74 miles south of the Canadian Border on I-87, was the scene of two multi vehicle rear end collisions. The forward visibility and other factors that are part of I-87 and other Interstate Highways strategic layout and traffic flow plans were violated by the impromptu checkpoint and appear to have been the cause of this crash. A study by the National Transportation & Safety Board (NTSB) determined that there are 100 interior checkpoints in the U.S. Many of them are located on arterial highways like I-87 with free-flowing traffic. On these high-speed highways drivers do not expect to have to come to a complete stop, and accidents occur.
Unlike other types of roadways, high speed limited access Interstate Highways have their own set of unique building and layout guidelines that have been proven over the years. Statistics kept by State and Federal Government agencies and compiled by the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS), allow organizations like the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to suggest new implementations as roadway conditions and traffic counts change annually.
