Interstate 88 (New York)

This article is about the Interstate Highway in New York. For the Interstate Highway in Illinois, see Interstate 88 (Illinois).

"Susquehanna Expressway" redirects here. For the expressway in Pennsylvania of the same name, see Interstate 83 § Pennsylvania.

Interstate 88
Senator Warren M. Anderson Expressway Susquehanna Expressway
Map of eastern New York with I-88 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	117.75 mi (189.50 km)
Existed	December 13, 1968–present
History	Completed in 1989
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-81 in Chenango
Major intersections	NY 79 in Harpursville NY 41 in Afton NY 206 in Bainbridge NY 8 in Sidney NY 357 in Unadilla NY 23 / NY 28 in Oneonta NY 10 in Richmondville NY 30 near Central Bridge US 20 / NY 7 near Duanesburg
East end	I-90 Toll / New York Thruway in Rotterdam
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Counties	Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Schenectady
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New York Highways Interstate US State (Former) Reference Parkways
← NY 87 → NY 88

Interstate 88 (I-88) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. Nominally signed as an east–west road as it has an even number, it extends for 117.75 miles (189.50 km) in a northeast–southwest direction from an interchange with I-81 north of the city of Binghamton to an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90) west of Schenectady. The freeway serves as an important connector route from the Capital District to Binghamton, Elmira (via New York State Route 17 or NY 17, I-86), and Scranton, Pennsylvania (via I-81). I-88 closely parallels NY 7, which was once the main route through the area.

I-88 was assigned in 1968, and construction of the highway began soon afterward. The first section of I-88 opened in the early 1970s, connecting two communities northeast of Binghamton. The last piece of the freeway was finished in 1989, linking the original segment to I-81 north of Binghamton. Early plans for I-88 called for the road to continue northeast to Troy; however, the east end of the route was moved to Schenectady in the early 1980s. A combined freeway/tollway in Illinois, though not contiguous, was also assigned the I-88 designation in 1987.

Route description

Binghamton to Oneonta

I-88 begins here at I-81 near Binghamton, and heads northeast toward New York's Capital District.

I-88 begins at an interchange with I-81 just north of Downtown Binghamton on the banks of the Chenango River. While both directions of I-81 are accessible from I-88 westbound, only one direction of I-81 (northbound) connects to I-88. The missing connection, I-81 south to I-88 east, is made via US Route 11 (US 11), NY 12, and NY 12A at I-81 exit 6. NY 12A then connects to I-88 at exit 2.

From I-81, I-88 heads east across the Chenango to Port Dickinson, where it merges with NY 7 (here also a limited-access highway) at exit 1. The two routes continue north, then east along the eastern bank of the Chenango River, where it meets NY 12A near Chenango Bridge. I-88 and NY 7 remain alongside the river to Port Crane, where the river begins to follow NY 369 (exit 3) northward. Outside of Port Crane, the expressway heads east to Sanitaria Springs. Here, NY 7 leaves the expressway at exit 4 and begins to parallel I-88, as it does for the remainder of I-88's routing. I-88 begins to climb a hill, with the eastbound lane having three lanes then soon meets Martin Hill Road (NY 992P) at exit 5.

I-88 approaching its exit for NY 357

I-88 continues east to Harpursville, connecting to NY 79 near the center of the community at exit 6. Shortly after meeting NY 79, I-88 reenters a river valley, this time that of the Susquehanna River. I-88 heads to the northeast, following the river and NY 7 to Afton where it has an interchange with NY 41 exit 7. It continues to Bainbridge where it meets NY 206 and then on to Sidney, where it meets NY 8, the primary north–south road through the village, at exit 9. From Sidney, I-88 progresses northeast through southern Otsego County. It passes Unadilla, accessed by exit 10, then connects to NY 357 at exit 11. The expressway continues and reaches exit 12 which connects to Otego via NY 911J. It continues northeastward before entering Oneonta. Within the city, I-88 interchanges with NY 205 ahead of exit 14 with Main Street, which is the former routing of NY 28. The next interchange I-88 intersects NY 23 and NY 28 joins the expressway, following I-88 out of the city.

Oneonta to Schenectady

Northeast of Oneonta, NY 28 leaves I-88 at exit 17 to follow the Susquehanna River northward toward Cooperstown. I-88, however, remains on a northeasterly track through rural eastern Otsego County. Upon crossing into Schoharie County, I-88 begins to follow an easterly routing as it heads toward Cobleskill. While NY 7 enters the village, I-88 passes south of it, connecting to the village via two exits with NY 7. East of Cobleskill, I-88 interchanges with NY 145. Howe Caverns, a regionally popular attraction, is located a short distance north of the exit. I-88 continues onward, skirting the northern edge of Schoharie before passing into Schenectady County.

Eastbound on I-88 in Schoharie County

Shortly after entering Schenectady County, I-88 meets US 20 east of Duanesburg. Past US 20, I-88 continues northeast, interchanging with NY 7 for one final time before ending at the New York State Thruway (I-90) in western Schenectady.

History

The 1956 National System of Interstate and Defense Highways Act did not include I-88. New York state officials pressed for addition of the route, and funding was included in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968. Right-of-way acquisition started immediately afterward, and I-88 was added to the Interstate Highway System on December 13, 1968. As originally planned by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), I-88 would begin at I-81 in Binghamton and follow the proposed Susquehanna Expressway to Schenectady, from where it would continue to US 4 in Troy over "Alternate Route 7", the limited-access alignment of NY 7 through the northern suburbs of Albany. This would have been accomplished by having I-88 meet the New York State Thruway at exit 25, where it would connect to I-890. I-88 would continue to Troy over I-890 and an upgraded NY 7.

In the early 1980s, the proposed connection with I-890 was scrapped in favor of a connection located to the west of exit 25 in Rotterdam. The extension to Troy was also eventually shelved, and thus the planned connections to the Adirondack Northway (I-87) and the toll-free part of I-90 between Thruway exit 24 and exit B1 on the Berkshire Connector were never built. As a result, the Thruway tolls are waived for all traffic that enters at exit 25A and heads west to exit 26 (I-890) or east to either exit 25 or 24 (I-890 or I-87/I-90, respectively).

The first section of what would become I-88 opened on October 5, 1949, as a bypass of Pickle Hill in Fenton, from Chenango Street to Chenango Bridge (now exit 2). By 1964, this highway was known as part of the Brandywine Highway, and received service roads to bring it to freeway standards. The first section to open specifically as part of the Susquehanna Expressway was 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) of what would become the westbound lanes, west from the junction of NY 7B and 369, which opened on October 29, 1968 as a super-two, to allow the existing road to be converted into the northbound lanes. The rest of this piece, between Chenango Bridge and a temporary junction with NY 7 west of Sanitaria Springs, opened on September 3, 1969. A second piece bypassing Oneonta between exits 13 and 16 at Emmons was opened to traffic on October 24, 1974. A year later, on September 18, 1975, a section from Harpursville to Bainbridge was opened. Construction then progressed southwestward from Oneonta, with the freeway reaching Otego on October 28, 1975, and to Unadilla on December 18 that year, up to and including an access road currently designated internally as NY 991H. The gap between Bainbridge and Unadilla was completed on September 8, 1976. Near Port Crane, the grade intersection to its east was eliminated with an extension west to Sanitaria Springs on September 12, 1977, and the gap between Sanitaria Springs and Harpursville was filled on December 7 later that year.

The focus then moved to the section of the expressway between Oneonta and Schenectady, the first section of which was completed from Emmons to Worcester on October 23, 1979. The section from Richmondville to Cobleskill was opened on August 27, 1980, which was then connected to Worcester and extended to Central Bridge on October 21, 1980. The last major section, from Central Bridge to exit 25 in Princetown, opened on December 22, 1980. Construction concluded on I-88 with the opening of the Thruway interchange on May 28, 1982, and the opening of the bridge over the Chenango River between I-81 in Chenango and the Brandywine Highway on November 23, 1988.

In 1999 NYSDOT, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) discussed redesignating the Berkshire Connector as I-90 and redesignating the nontoll part of I-90 from Thruway exit 24 to exit B1 on the Berkshire Connector as I-88. The section of the Thruway between exits 25 and 24 would then be codesignated as I-90 and I-88. This was never implemented.

2006 flood

Main article: 2006 Mid-Atlantic United States flood

As a result of the June 2006 flooding in Upstate New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania, Carrs Creek washed out a 50-foot (15 m) section of I-88 southwest of Unadilla on June 28. Around 6:20 am, two trucks from different directions drove into the chasm, apparently unaware of it, killing both drivers. David Swingle, 42, of Waverly, who was driving eastbound, was identified shortly after the accident. The westbound trucker was Patrick O'Connell, 55, of Lisbon, Maine. His body was found downstream several days after the water receded.

NYSDOT started construction to replace the section of highway almost immediately, and it was reopened August 31. Families of both victims planned to sue the state of New York for the incidents.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Broome	Dickinson	0.00	0.00	–	I-81 south to I-86 / NY 17 – Binghamton I-81 north – Syracuse	No entrance from I-81 south
	Fenton	0.70	1.13	1	NY 7 west – Binghamton, Port Dickinson	Western terminus of concurrency with NY 7; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		2.41	3.88	2	NY 12A west to NY 12 – Chenango Bridge	NY 12 appears only on westbound signage
		4.66	7.50	3	NY 369 north / NY 7B east – Port Crane	Southern terminus of NY 369, western terminus of NY 7B
	Colesville	7.83	12.60	4	NY 7 east / NY 7B west – Sanitaria Springs	Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 7, eastern terminus of NY 7B
		12.06	19.41	5	Martin Hill Road – Belden / To NY 7	To NY 7 via NY 992P; to NY 7 only signed westbound
		16.05	25.83	6	NY 79 – Harpursville, Nineveh
		17.42	28.03	Susquehanna River
Chenango	Town of Afton	23.37	37.61	7	NY 41 – Afton
	Town of Bainbridge	29.47	47.43	8	NY 206 – Bainbridge, Masonville	Masonville appears only on eastbound signage
Delaware	Town of Sidney	33.09	53.25	9	NY 8 – Sidney, Masonville	Masonville appears only on westbound signage
		37.37	60.14	10	NY 7 – Unadilla	Via NY 991H
		39.50	63.57	Unadilla Rest Area Rest Area (eastbound)
		40.58	65.31	11	NY 357 – Unadilla, Franklin
		42.40	68.24	Wells Bridge Rest Area Rest Area (westbound)
Otsego	Town of Otego	46.88	75.45	12	NY 7 – Otego, Wells Bridge	Via NY 991J
		51.01	82.09	Susquehanna River
	Oneonta	53.59	86.24	13	NY 205 to NY 23 west – Oneonta, Morris
		55.82	89.83	14	NY 28 south / Main Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		56.72	91.28	15	NY 23 / NY 28 south – Oneonta, Davenport	Western terminus of concurrency with NY 28; NY 28 appears only on westbound signage
	Town of Oneonta	58.74	94.53	16	CR 47 – Emmons, Davenport Center	Via NY 991F
	Town of Milford	61.06	98.27	17	NY 28 north to NY 7 – Colliersville, Cooperstown	Eastern terminus of concurrency with NY 28
	Maryland	71.01	114.28	18	CR 56 – Schenevus	Via NY 992H
	Worcester	73.60	118.45	West Worcester Rest Area (eastbound)
		76.59	123.26	19	To NY 7 – Worcester, East Worcester	Via NY 992J
		78.90	126.98	East Worcester Rest Area (westbound)
Schoharie	Town of Richmondville	87.94	141.53	20	NY 7 / NY 10 south – Richmondville
		90.07	144.95	21	NY 7 / NY 10 north – Warnerville, Cobleskill
	Town of Cobleskill	95.24	153.27	22	NY 7 / NY 145 – Cobleskill, Middleburgh
	Town of Schoharie	101.12	162.74	23	NY 7 / NY 30 / NY 30A – Schoharie, Central Bridge
Schenectady	Duanesburg	111.93	180.13	24	US 20 / NY 7 – Duanesburg
	Rotterdam	116.75– 116.80	187.89– 187.97	25	NY 7 – Rotterdam, Schenectady
		117.70	189.42	–	I-90 Toll west / New York Thruway – Buffalo I-90 Toll east / New York Thruway to I-87 – Albany	Exit 25A on I-90 / Thruway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

External links

• Interstate 88 at Alps' Roads • New York Routes • Upstate New York Roads