New York State Route 37

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NY Route 37
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length: 127.40 mi[1] (205.03 km)
Formed: 1930[2]
West end: US 11 in Watertown
Major
junctions:		 NY 812 in Ogdensburg
NY 56 in Massena
East end: US 11/NY 11B/NY 30 in Malone
Counties: Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Franklin
Numbered highways in New York
< NY 36 NY 37B >
Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference

New York State Route 37 is a major state highway in the North Country of the U.S. state of New York, extending for 127.40 miles (205.03 km) on a west-east axis. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 in Watertown, St. Lawrence County. The eastern terminus is at US 11, NY 11B, and NY 30 in Malone, Franklin County. In between, NY 37 passes through Ogdensburg and Massena. It is a two lane, nondivided, full access roadway for most of its entire length, except for portions between Massena and western Franklin County, where the route widens to a four-lane divided highway.

NY 37 was assigned in 1930 to the portion of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway between Redwood and Malone as well as to a previously unnumbered roadway between Watertown and Redwood. The Redwood-Malone portion was originally part of NY 3 when state highways in New York were first signed in 1924. NY 37 has since been rerouted in areas, primarily near Ogdensburg and Massena.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] Watertown to Ogdensburg

NY 37 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 11 just north of Watertown. Between Watertown and Theresa, NY 37 follows a north-south alignment and parallels Interstate 81, located just west of NY 37. Southwest of Theresa, I-81 turns to the northwest as NY 37 intersects NY 26 and NY 411, the westward continuation of NY 26. NY 26 joins NY 37 around the western edge of the village before splitting to the northwest a short distance to the north. NY 37, however, continues northward, passing through Redwood before curving northeast as it enters St. Lawrence County.[3]

Across the county line, NY 37 parallels NY 12 to the north as both routes proceed northeast. Roughly seven miles from the county line, NY 37 encounters Hammond, a small village located west of Black Lake. Past Hammond, Route 37 heads north toward Morristown, where it meets NY 12, the primary roadway along the St. Lawrence River's southern bank west of this point. NY 12 ends here; however, NY 37 takes over the routing of NY 12 and proceeds northeast along the edge of the St. Lawrence River. Just east of NY 12, NY 37 meets the northernmost point of NY 58.[3]

Midway between Morristown and Ogdensburg, NY 37 enters the St. Lawrence State Park, one of many New York state parks located on the southern bank of the river. The route exits the park and heads northeast to Ogdensburg, where it meets NY 68 (the former routing of NY 37 into Ogdensburg) west of the city. While NY 68 continues into downtown, NY 37 turns eastward, then northeastward and bypasses the city to the south. Near the Ogdensburg International Airport, NY 37 interchanges with NY 812, which joins NY 37 here, and intersects NY 68 once more before leaving Ogdensburg.[3]

[edit] Ogdensburg to Massena

Just outside of Ogdensburg, NY 812 separates from NY 37 to continue northward to Canada over the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, where it becomes Highway 16 farther inland. NY 37, however, continues to follow the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, passing the Galop Island State Park on its way to Waddington, where it intersects the northernmost point on NY 345. East of the village, NY 37 passes south of the riverside Coles Creek State Park and traverses Coles Creek itself.[4]

In the Louisville hamlet of Louisville Corner (west of Massena), NY 37 departs the St. Lawrence River and intersects the western end of NY 131, a northerly bypass of Massena along the riverbank. Farther east in Massena, NY 37 intersects NY 37B, the former routing of NY 37 through Massena, west of the village before crossing over the Grasse River and intersecting the northern termini of both NY 56 (where NY 37 widens into a four-lane divided highway) and NY 420. NY 37B later rejoins NY 37 east of the village, as does NY 131 directly north of the Massena International Airport.[4]

[edit] Eastern St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties

East of the Airport in the town of Massena, NY 37 begins to parallel the north bank of the Raquette River as it intersects NY 37C near a hamlet named for the waterway. NY 37 and the river continue northeast to the vicinity of the hamlet of Rooseveltown, where NY 37 interchanges with a large traffic circle linking NY 37 to the Seaway International Bridge as well as County Route 45. Upon crossing into Franklin County and the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation a short distance to the east, the road narrows back to a two-lane undivided highway and crosses over the Raquette River.[5]

Although most of NY 37 in the town of Bombay is contained within the reservation, a short portion east of Hogansburg and the St. Regis River and west of Tarbell Road is located outside the reservation limits. Within this stretch, NY 37 meets both the eastern end of NY 37C and the northern terminus of NY 95. East of the reservation, NY 37 roughly parallels the CSX Transportation Montreal Subdivision northeast to Fort Covington, where NY 37 crosses the railroad line and intersects Water Street (unsigned NY 970T), a connector to Quebec Route 132 on the northern side of the U.S.-Canada border.[5]

East of Fort Covington, NY 37 follows a more southeasterly routing as it separates from the northernmost extents of the state. In the Westville hamlet of Westville Center, NY 37 meets the current western terminus of NY 122. Farther south, NY 37 enters the village of Malone, where it terminates at U.S. Route 11, NY 11B and NY 30.[5]

[edit] History

The portion of NY 37 from Redwood to Malone was originally part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, an American and Canadian auto trail connecting Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean coast to Portland, Oregon east of the Pacific Ocean. When state highways were first signed in New York in 1924, the entirety of the Roosevelt Highway in New York was designated NY 3.[6] In the 1930 renumbering, NY 3 was rerouted to follow its current routing between Watertown and Plattsburgh. The former routing of NY 3 along the St. Lawrence River, as well as an unnumbered roadway between Watertown and Redwood via Theresa, became NY 37.[2]

From Watertown to Ogdensburg, the routing of NY 37 has been changed little since its assignment in 1930. However, from Ogdensburg east to Malone, NY 37 has been rerouted in areas to either bypass a riverside location or to straighten out the roadway between two locations. In the Ogdensburg area, NY 37 originally entered on Main Street (modern NY 68) and exited on Ford Street and Proctor Avenue. Between the city and Waddington, NY 37 was routed on St. Lawrence County Road 28 while the modern alignment to the north was designated as NY 37A.[7]

In the Massena area, NY 37 broke from its modern alignment west of the village and followed NY 37B east to Main Street. Here, it turned south onto Main to traverse the Grasse River before continuing east on Orvis Street (and meeting modern NY 37B at Center Street) to reconnect to its modern alignment east of the village. Lastly, from modern NY 131 adjacent to the Massena International Airport to Rooseveltown, Route 37 was initially routed on Trippany Road, NY 37C, and Roosevelt Road.[7]

NY 37 was moved onto its current alignment in the Ogdensburg area by 1963 (with NY 37 and NY 37A swapping alignments east of the city)[8] and in the Massena area by 1967.[9]

[edit] Suffixed routes

NY 37 once had as many as four suffixed routes; two have since been removed.

  • NY 37A was an alternate route of NY 37 between Ogdensburg and Waddington. The route, originally part of NY 37, was redesignated as St. Lawrence County Road 28 on April 10, 1980.[10]
  • NY 37B (4.03 miles (6.49 km)[1]) is the former routing of NY 37 through Massena. NY 37B leaves NY 37 west of the village and rejoins its parent just east of Massena. Prior to the mid-1970s, NY 37B was assigned to what is now NY 131.
  • NY 37C (9.89 miles (15.92 km)[1]) is a loop off of NY 37 in northeastern St. Lawrence County and northwestern Franklin County. While NY 37 follows a direct east-west routing between Massena and the Bombay community of Hogansburg, NY 37C dips south to serve to the Brasher community of Helena.
  • NY 37D was a spur connecting NY 37 to NY 26 in Theresa along what is now Jefferson County Road 136 and County Road 46.

[edit] Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Jefferson City of Watertown 0.00 US 11
Pamelia 2.66 NY 342
Town of Theresa 13.87 CR 136 Former western terminus of NY 37D
15.91 NY 26 south
NY 411		 Eastern terminus of NY 411; southern terminus of overlap
18.51 NY 26 north Northern terminus of overlap
St. Lawrence Hammond 33.67 CR 3 Former western terminus of NY 185
Town of Morristown 43.74 NY 12 Northern terminus of NY 12
43.99 NY 58 Northern terminus of NY 58
Oswegatchie 53.49 NY 68 Western terminus of NY 68
55.61 NY 812 south Western terminus of overlap
55.95 NY 68
Ogdensburg/Lisbon line 58.02 NY 812 north Eastern terminus of overlap
Lisbon 59.27 CR 28 Former western terminus of NY 37A
Village of Waddington 73.02 CR 28 Former eastern terminus of NY 37A
74.19 NY 345 Northern terminus of NY 345
Louisville 84.10 NY 131 Western terminus of NY 131
88.49 NY 37B Western terminus of NY 37B
89.42 NY 56 Northern terminus of NY 56
Village of Massena 90.94 NY 420 Northern terminus of NY 420
92.77 NY 37B Eastern terminus of NY 37B
94.49 NY 131 Eastern terminus of NY 131
96.51 NY 37C Western terminus of NY 37C
Franklin Bombay 103.76 NY 37C Eastern terminus of NY 37C
104.97 NY 95 Northern terminus of NY 95
Westville 118.83 NY 122 Western terminus of NY 112
Village of Malone 127.40 US 11
NY 11B / NY 30		 Eastern terminus of NY 11B

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Traffic Data Report - NY 37 to (PDF). NYSDOT (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  2. ^ a b Leon A. Dickinson. "New Signs for State Highways", New York Times, 1930-01-12, p. 136. 
  3. ^ a b c Google Maps (2008). Overview of New York State Route 37 from Watertown to Ogdensburg. [Map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  4. ^ a b Google Maps (2008). Overview of New York State route 37 from Ogdensburg to Massena. [Map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  5. ^ a b c Google Maps (2008). Overview of New York State Route 37 from Messena to Malone. [Map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  6. ^ "New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers", New York Times, 1924-12-21, p. XX9. 
  7. ^ a b United States Geological Survey. Ogdensburg, NY Quadrangle [map], 1:250,000, Eastern United States 1:250,000. (1951) Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  8. ^ United States Geological Survey. Ogdensburg East Quadrangle - Washington [map], 1 : 24,000, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). (1963) Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  9. ^ Gousha. Gousha Road Atlas [map]. (1967) Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  10. ^ New York State Department of Transportation (October 2004). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Bicycle Routes in New York State. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.

[edit] External links