U.S. Route 6 in New York Totally Explained

Everything about U S Route 6 In New York totally explained

The New York segment of the cross-country U.S. Route 6 takes 78 miles (126 km) to traverse the state in the narrowing funnel that becomes Downstate New York on the northern fringe of the New York Metropolitan Area, from the Pennsylvania state line at Port Jervis east to Connecticut. Near both ends, it runs in close proximity to Interstate 84, which otherwise takes a more northerly route.
Except for a section concurrent with the expressway portion of NY 17 (the future Interstate 86), and another brief similar stretch in Peekskill it's a two-lane road. Two stretches are shared with US 202. It goes through three of New York's traffic circles, more than any other highway in the state, and is part of the only concurrency of three U.S. routes in the state.
U.S. 6 isn't as important a transportation artery in New York as it in some other states. The route does, however, pass through some of the region's more memorable scenery, particularly the Hudson Highlands in the form of Harriman and Bear Mountain state parks. It crosses the Hudson River at the historic Bear Mountain Bridge. Other highlights include the Shawangunk Ridge in the west and New York City's reservoirs in the east.

Route description

The Hudson roughly bisects New York's section of Route 6, although more of it's on the river's western side. Despite its many curves and turns, the road stays in a generally east-west direction.

Communities
Port Jervis Middletown Goshen Chester Monroe Harriman Peekskill Shrub Oak Mahopac Brewster

Orange and Rockland counties (West of Hudson)

US 6 crosses the Delaware River into New York concurrent with US 209, Matamoras via the Mid-Delaware Bridge, becoming Port Jervis almost seamlessly, becoming busy Pike Street. Two blocks from the bridge, the highways cross under the wide grassy strip that once carried the Erie Railroad's Main Line and pass the Metro-North station, the most remote from New York on the extensive commuter rail network. A few blocks further north, at the Park Avenue traffic light, NY 42 and 97 begin to the left and 6 and 209 turn right, now West Main Street. Two blocks later, the highways having not even come a mile from the state line, 209 splits to the left at Kingston Avenue. Route 6 continues to follow West Main past Port Jervis Middle School and Bon Secours Hospital, veering south to cross under the railroad tracks and then over the Neversink River. At three-way junction with short Orange County Route 15, Route 6 reaches the Port Jervis city limit. Signs point to NJ 23, which begins a few hundred feet to the south, just past the I-84 overpass, a popular destination for Port residents filling their gas tanks due to New Jersey's lower gas prices. From here traffic on 6 grows lighter as it parallels the interstate for the next 17 miles (27 km). Trucks going through this stretch are limited to 10 tons (9.1 tonnes). It slowly traverses up the Shawangunk Ridge alongside the interstate and then down again. Just before Exit 3, it crosses under 84 again. After putting at least a mile between the two, 6 starts to run a long straight course, as Grand Army of the Republic Highway, through the wetlands of Greenville, then through gently rolling hills taking it to South Centreville, where Minisink Valley High School and the district's other schools are concentrated. At the hamlet of Slate Hill, NY 284, another route down to New Jersey, comes in from the south.
   US 6 continues through very rural countryside through here. Shortly before Middletown it crosses over the interstate and turns left onto NY 17M, crossing over I-84 yet again. This will be the last it sees of the interstate west of the Hudson.
   The 6/17M concurrency continues for another 5 miles (9 km), crossing the Wallkill River, through slightly more developed countryside to Goshen, where the two routes join the NY 17 freeway (soon to be Interstate 86) at Exit 123. 17M leaves the freeway several exits to the east, but 6 stays with it for 13 miles (21 km), where it interchanges with important local state routes 17A, 207, 94 and 208 in the villages of Goshen, Chester, and Monroe respectively to a long overpass that leaves just before it ends at the junction with the north-south 17, NY 32 and the New York State Thruway, an area often jammed with traffic from nearby Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on busy weekends. Another portion of traffic is bound for the United States Military Academy at West Point, per the signs on the Thruway directing drivers to use eastbound 6 for that purpose.
   With the Thruway behind, 6 climbs the side of a mountain, just as it does after Port Jervis. A small pullout area reveals beautiful views of the mall and the area around the exit. At the top lies Harriman State Park, where 6 becomes Long Mountain Parkway, a 7-mile (11 km) stretch with no development. NY 293 leaves to the north to West Point's upper gates and the road widens briefly to include a middle turn lane. After dropping past a lake and then rising again, the Long Path long-distance hiking trail crosses the road on its way to the feature that gives this section of the highway its name. Driveways to the south lead to private camps that have housed various area hiking clubs since the 1920s.
   A long descent leads to Long Mountain Circle, where Seven Lakes Drive (Orange County Route 106) crosses and 6 joins Palisades Interstate Parkway, descending slowly through a very scenic three miles (5 km) through Bear Mountain State Park between Bear Mountain to the south and Popolopen Torne to the north into another roundabout, the busy Bear Mountain Circle, where the parkway ends and 6 intersects US 9W, picking up US 202 to cross the Hudson River at Bear Mountain Bridge. The rocky slopes of Anthony's Nose loom ahead. A $1 toll is charged in this direction. The Appalachian Trail's white blazes are also visible on the lampposts; this quarter-mile (200 m) stretch takes care of Rockland County.

East of Hudson

Westchester County

At the east end of the bridge, the AT turns north along NY 9D, which begins here. Routes 6 and 202 turn right and begin a four-mile (6.4-km) descent along the edge of the mountain to Peekskill. Pulloffs along this winding stretch allow drivers to take in sweeping views of that city, Haverstraw Bay and Dunderberg Mountain across the river at the southern end of the Hudson Highlands. The road finally reaches 6's third traffic circle just north of the city limit. Here US 9 joins the two highways for an 0.7-mile (1.2 km) concurrency, the only combination of three U.S. highways in the state. At a traffic light south of the circle, Bear Mountain Parkway goes off to the east while the concurrency becomes the upper end of the Croton Expressway.
6 and 202 separate from 9 at the first interchange and pick up NY 35, which begins here. The three routes follow Main Street for 0.8 mile (1.4 km) to Division Street, where 202 and 35 turn south while 6 continues east out of the city.
Northeast of Peekskill, US 6 works its way north, through the hamlet of Mohegan Lake and Shrub Oak, where it has an interchange with the Taconic State Parkway. It continues east, just south of the county line. into Jefferson Valley and past Oceola Lake, where NY 6N, the lone spur of US 6 in New York, begins a northerly loop. At Baldwin Place, it veers north again and enters Putnam County.

Putnam County

Just past the county line, NY 118 comes to its northern end. 6 runs ever more northerly, meeting 6N's other end as it follows the south shore of Lake Mahopac through the eponymous village.
The combined influence of the New York City water supply system's Croton Watershed, which includes most of the bodies of water along this stretch of US 6, and affluent residents who build on very large lots, keeps this area lightly developed. Leaving Mahopac, 6 curves past the south end of West Branch Reservoir and controlled Lake Gleneida to its next highway junction, the east end of NY 52 just south of the county seat, Carmel. The highway immediately turns toward the south again, curving around Middle Branch Reservoir at Tilly Foster to the west terminus of NY 312. At this junction, signs for the Southeast station on the Metro-North Harlem Line are a reminder that this is still commuter country. Also appearing are the first signs for I-84, whose interchange with 312 is a short distance away, since Middletown.
A long bend through countryside increasingly anticipating New England brings 6 over the Metro-North tracks and to a right turn along them takes 6 into Brewster. At that village's Metro-North station, the highway again turns left, bringing it to an intersection just outside the village where it's reunited with US 202, here concurrent with NY 22. After crossing under the interstate, the road encounters a half-cloverleaf. 22 turns left and leaves for Pawling and points north and Interstate 684 is a short distance to the south, via New York State Route 981B, a short reference route occupying the I-684 right-of-way between I-84 and NY 22,. 6 and 202 remain parallel with I-84, following the southern shore of one of the lakes of East Branch Reservoir. After one last highway terminus, NY 121's northern end, both cross into Danbury, Connecticut, right next to the interstate's Mill Plain Road exit.

History

The portion of US 6 within New York was assigned in 1926. It was realigned onto the Quickway in 1955 following its completion between Goshen and Harriman. The original surface alignment is now NY 17M.

US 6 Expressway

In the town of Yorktown, in the areas around the hamlets of Shrub Oak and Jefferson Valley, US 6 is a partially access-controlled expressway. US 6 was originally routed along East Main Street. This old alignment is now a town-maintained road but with a hidden county route designation (for planning purposes) of Westchester County Road 1309. East Main Street serves as the local business route for the two hamlets.
The expressway carries US 6 from where it splits from East Main Street to the intersection with Curry Street. It was built sometime prior to 1989 and was originally mostly two lanes. Around 1993, which was also when the interchange with the Taconic State Parkway was reconstructed, the expressway was widened to a four lane divided highway from just west of the intersection with NY 132 to just west of the intersection with NY 6N. Around 2000, the remainder of the expressway, except for a short section between the East Main Street split and Strawberry Road was expanded into a 4 lane divided highway.
The current junction between US 6 and NY 6N is slightly east of the original, which is now the Main Street and Mahopac Street (6N) intersection. From there, 6N travels on a road that isn't part of the original Main Street to get to 6. When the 6 realignment (it formerly simply followed Main Street) took place, the new 6 roadway merged back with the old Main Street just east of the Main and Mahopac intersection, but the connection of the old Main Street was cut off and instead a new Main Street (6N) was built to the north which ends at 6's intersection with Curry Street. Also disrupted was Gomer Street, which once connected with Main Street (old 6) at the Mahopac (6N) intersection. The southern Gomer Street was routed to Curry Street, and the northern Gomer Street was dead-ended to form Gomer Court.

NY 6N

NY 6N (}} |- |rowspan=22|Orange |rowspan=6|Port Jervis |0.00 !colspan=2| US 6/US 209 continue across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania |- |0.61 | NY 42/NY 97 |Southern termini of NY 42 and NY 97 |- ||0.86 || US 209 north ||Eastern terminus of overlap |- |1.72 !colspan=2|Neversink River |- |2.32 |CR 15 |To NJ 23; northern terminus of CR 15 |- | | I-84 |Exit 1 (I-84) |- |Wawayanda |14.25 | NY 284 |Northern terminus of NY 284 |- |rowspan=2|Middletown ||17.76 || NY 17M west ||Western terminus of overlap |- |18.14 | I-84 |Exit 3 (I-84) |- |rowspan=1|New Hampton |22.32 !colspan=2|Wallkill River |- |rowspan=3|Goshen ||22.92 || NY 17 west ||Exit 123 (US 6/NY 17/NY 17M); western terminus of overlap |- |23.31 | NY 17A
NY 207 |Exit 124 (US 6/NY 17/NY 17M); western termini of NY 17A and NY 207 |- ||23.89 || NY 17M east ||Exit 125 (US 6/NY 17/NY 17M); eastern terminus of overlap |- |rowspan=2|Chester |27.38 | NY 94
NY 17M |Exit 126 (US 6/NY 17) |- |29.21 | NY 17M |Exit 127 (US 6/NY 17) |- |Monroe |32.71 | NY 208 |Exit 130 (US 6/NY 17) |- |rowspan=2|Harriman ||35.67 || NY 17 east ||Exit 130A (US 6/NY 17); eastern terminus of overlap; to I-87/Thruway |- |36.26 | NY 17 |Interchange; to NY 32 |- |Woodbury |39.31 | NY 293 |Southern terminus of NY 293 |- |rowspan=3|Highlands ||43.37 || Palisades Interstate Parkway south ||Long Mountain Circle; western terminus of overlap |- ||45.77 || US 9W/US 202 west
Palisades Interstate Parkway north ||Eastern terminus of US 6/PIP overlap; western terminus of US 6/202 overlap; northern terminus of the PIP |- |rowspan=2|46.33 !rowspan=2 colspan=2|Bear Mountain Circle |- |rowspan=2|Rockland |rowspan=2|Stony Point |- |rowspan=2|46.58 !rowspan=2 colspan=2|Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River |- |rowspan=11|Westchester |rowspan=2|Cortlandt |- |46.82 | NY 9D |Southern terminus of NY 9D |- |rowspan=4|Peekskill ||49.99 || US 9 north ||Annsville Circle; northern terminus of overlap |- | | Bear Mountain State Parkway |Western terminus of Bear Mountain Pkwy |- ||50.72 || US 9 south
NY 35 east ||Western terminus of NY 35; southern terminus of US 6/9 overlap; western terminus of US 6/NY 35 overlap |- ||51.57 || US 202 east/NY 35 east ||Eastern termini of US 6/202 and US 6/NY 35 overlaps |- |Cortlandt |53.25 | Bear Mountain State Parkway |Interchange |- |rowspan=4|Yorktown |57.49 | NY 132 |Northern terminus of NY 132 |- |57.70 | Taconic State Parkway |Interchange |- |59.54 | NY 6N |Western terminus of NY 6N |- |rowspan=2|61.19 !rowspan=2 colspan=2| |- |rowspan=9|Putnam |rowspan=2|Carmel |- |61.22 | NY 118 |Northern terminus of NY 118 |- |Mahopac |63.66 | NY 6N |Eastern terminus of NY 6N |- |Carmel |68.95 | NY 52 |Eastern terminus of NY 52 |- |Southeast |71.18 | NY 312 |Western terminus of NY 312 |- |rowspan=2|Brewster ||73.93 || US 202 west/NY 22 south ||Western termini of US 6/202 overlap and US 6/NY 22 overlaps |- ||74.84 || I-684
NY 22 north ||Exit 10 (I-684); eastern terminus of US 6/NY 22 overlap |- |rowspan=2|Southeast |75.79 | NY 121 |Northern terminus of NY 121 |- |78.09 !colspan=2| US 6/US 202 continue into Connecticut |}

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