New York State Route 324

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NY Route 324
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length: 22.51 mi[1] (36.23 km)
Formed: 1930s[2]
West end: I-190 / Thruway / NY 384 in Niagara Falls
Major
junctions:		 I-190 / Thruway on Grand Island
NY 265 in Tonawanda
I-290 in Amherst
NY 78 in Amherst / Clarence
East end: NY 5 in Clarence
Counties: Niagara, Erie
Numbered highways in New York
< NY 323 NY 326 >
Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference
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New York State Route 324 is a state highway located in Western New York. Officially, NY 324 begins at NY 384 in Niagara Falls and overlaps Interstate 190 (the Niagara Section of the New York State Thruway) south to Grand Island, where it separates from I-190 and continues southward as Grand Island Boulevard. As signed, however, NY 324 begins at the southern end of the official overlap and is contained entirely within Erie County. The eastern terminus of the route, both official and as signed, is at NY 5 in Clarence. At the southern edge of Grand Island, NY 324 must join I-190 to cross to the mainland, where it runs straight across three towns before reaching its eastern end at a junction with NY 5.

NY 324 is known by two prominent names along its routing: Grand Island Boulevard on Grand Island and Sheridan Drive in the northern suburbs of Buffalo. As the latter, the route serves as a major commercial strip for Tonawanda, Amherst, and Clarence.

The route, assigned in the 1930s, once extended northwest to downtown Niagara Falls; however, it was truncated to its current alignment in the 1960s.

Contents

[edit] Route description

According to the New York State Department of Transportation, NY 324 begins at NY 384 in eastern Niagara Falls. NY 324 heads south, overlapping Interstate 190 (the Niagara Section of the New York State Thruway) across the North Grand Island Bridge to Grand Island, where it leaves the expressway at exit 20.[3] However, as signed, Route 324 begins at the north end of Grand Island, where it splits off from the interstate as Grand Island Boulevard. South of exit 20, the official and signed routings are identical.[4]

Looking down Route 325 from Route 324
Looking down Route 325 from Route 324

From I-190 exit 20, NY 324 runs in a more southeasterly direction, serving as the main commercial strip on the island, before it overlaps I-190 in order to cross the Niagara River. It parts company with the interstate after less than two miles, assuming a more due easterly course across northern Erie County as Sheridan Drive. The named street also continues west of NY 324 for 1.42 miles (2.29 km) through a commercial and industrial area of the town of Tonawanda as New York State Route 325, terminating at NY 266 on the banks of the Niagara. Though Sheridan is signed as a state highway (on both NY 324 and NY 325), most residents simply refer to this road by its local name.[1][4]

Sheridan Drive continues west of NY 324 as NY 325.
Sheridan Drive continues west of NY 324 as NY 325.

Through much of this portion, the road is divided, with a tree-lined median strip. Businesses, both local and national, line both sides of the road and traffic is heavy. It crosses some other major strips such as Niagara Falls Boulevard (US 62), a major contributor to traffic on Sheridan due to the proximity of the Boulevard Mall, and Millersport Highway (NY 263), which feeds the northern SUNY Buffalo campus.[4]

In Amherst it meets the Youngmann Expressway, I-290, right where NY 240 (Harlem Road), reaches its northern end. Past the Youngmann development abates, green returns to the roadside and the median ends, although the road remains four-lane and high-volume. There is another pocket of development around the Wegmans supermarket north of Williamsville, which has seen some rapid growth in the last few years.[4]

324 crosses its last major route, Transit Road (NY 78), on an overpass just north of the once-thriving Eastern Hills Mall, which used to be the premier mall in the Buffalo area until it began losing tenants and customers to the larger Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga.[4]

Sheridan Drive in the Town of Tonawanda.
Sheridan Drive in the Town of Tonawanda.

Beyond Transit, the road is still four-lane but primarily residential as it enters the Town of Clarence. After Harris Hill Road, the highway bends to the southeast once again for a final mile into its eastern end at Main Street (NY 5). This last section was widened from two lanes to four in the mid-1990s, and has seen some development but still remains lightly trafficked most of the day.[4]

[edit] History

When NY 324 was assigned in the 1930s, it consisted of only the Sheridan Drive portion of its modern alignment. West of Tonawanda, what is now NY 324 continued north to Grand Island, as well as Niagara Falls, as NY 325.[2] By 1938, NY 324 had been extended northward to NY 384 in Niagara Falls, supplanting the entirety of NY 325, while NY 325 was reassigned to the short piece of Sheridan Drive not designated as NY 324.[5] The route was extended one final time by 1948 to follow NY 384 westward from the North Grand Island Bridge into downtown Niagara Falls.[6]

NY 384 remained unchanged until the early 1960s when the overlap with NY 384 was removed. Although the overlap with the new Interstate 190 on the North Grand Island Bridge was also removed from maps during the same period[7][8] and is no longer signed, this overlap was never officially removed from either the New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT) description of the route[3][9] or the annual NYSDOT Traffic Data Report.[1]

[edit] Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Niagara Niagara Falls 0.00 NY 384
I-190 / Thruway north		 Exit 21 (I-190/Thruway); northern terminus of I-190/NY 324 overlap
Erie Grand Island 1.57 I-190 / Thruway south Exit 20B (I-190/Thruway); southern terminus of overlap
6.17 I-190 / Thruway north Exit 18 (I-190/Thruway); northern terminus of overlap
Town of Tonawanda 7.42 NY 266 (River Road) Exit 17 (I-190/Thruway)
8.02 I-290 (Youngmann Expressway) Exit 16 (I-190/Thruway); western terminus of I-290
8.25 I-190 / Thruway south Exit 15 (I-190/Thruway); southern terminus of overlap (eastbound)
9.05 I-190 / Thruway north Exit 15 (I-190/Thruway); southern terminus of overlap (westbound)
9.56 NY 325 (Sheridan Drive) Northern terminus of NY 325
9.95 NY 265 (Military Road)
10.78 NY 384 (Delaware Avenue)
13.11 US 62 (Niagara Falls Boulevard) Western terminus of overlap
Amherst 13.56 US 62 (Bailey Avenue) Eastern terminus of overlap
14.32 NY 263 (Millersport Highway)
15.09 NY 240 (Harlem Rd.) Northern terminus of NY 240
15.13 I-290 (Youngmann Expressway) Exit 6 (I-290)
15.90 NY 277 (Union Road) Northern terminus of NY 277
19.50 NY 78 (Transit Road)
Clarence 22.51 NY 5 (Main Street)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d 2006 Traffic Data Report for New York State (PDF) pp. 281–282. New York State Department of Transportation (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  2. ^ a b Shell. Niagara Falls and Vicinity [map]. Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. (1935) Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  3. ^ a b New York State Department of Transportation (October 2007). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f I Love New York. 1977-2007 I Love New York state map (Buffalo inset) [map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
  5. ^ Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book, 1938/39 edition, (W.A. Thibodeau, 1938).
  6. ^ United States Geological Survey. Tonawanda Quadrangle - New York (southwest) [map], 1 : 62,500, 15 Minute Series (Topographic). (1948) Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  7. ^ White Rose. Ontario [map]. Cartography by Rolph-McNally Limited. (1963) Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  8. ^ Supertest. Ontario [map]. Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. (1964) Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  9. ^ State of New York Department of Transportation (1970-01-01). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.

[edit] External links