U.S. Route 20A (New York)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. Route 20A
Length:	83.59 mi[1] (134.53 km)
Formed:	1938[2]
West end:	US 20 in Hamburg
Major junctions:	US 219 in Orchard Park NY 400 in East Aurora NY 19 in Warsaw I-390 near Geneseo
East end:	US 20 / NY 5 / NY 64 in East Bloomfield
Numbered highways in New York < US 20 NY 20C > Spur of US 20 Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference United States Numbered Highways List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 20A is an east-west alternate route of U.S. Route 20 stretching 83.59 miles (134.53 kilometers) across Western New York. The western terminus of the route is at US 20 in Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, near the intersection of US 20 and U.S. Route 62 and west of Ralph Wilson Stadium. The eastern terminus is at US 20, New York State Route 5 and New York State Route 64 in East Bloomfield about five miles west of Canandaigua, the county seat of Ontario County. Most of the route is known as Big Tree Road.

While the main line of US 20 takes a direct path to Buffalo via Avon, US 20A veers to the south to serve Geneseo. The town of Attica, famous for the Attica Prison riots of 1971, lies between US 20 and US 20A.

A portion of the route once carried the US 20 designation. As US 20 was realigned onto its current alignment between Hamburg and Avon, US 20A was assigned to its former routing. US 20A was simultaneously assigned to part of the former routing of New York State Route 254 between Livonia and Bristol.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Buffalo area 1.2 East Aurora to Warsaw 1.3 Warsaw to Livonia 1.4 Livonia to East Bloomfield 2 History 2.1 Retsof Salt Mine collapse 3 Major intersections 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

Major cities
Buffalo Hamburg Orchard Park East Aurora Warsaw Leicester Geneseo Livonia

[edit] Buffalo area

US 20A separates from US 20 at an intersection locally known as "Seven Corners". The route heads east on Big Tree Road, entering the town of Orchard Park and passing south of the southern campus of the Erie Community College and Ralph Wilson Stadium in succession before interchanging with U.S. Route 219 (the Springville Expressway). Past US 219, the route enters the village of Orchard Park, becoming Quaker Street and intersecting the New York State Route 240/New York State Route 277 concurrency in the center of the community at the "Four Corners".

Past Orchard Park, US 20A becomes Quaker Road, passing through open land as it progresses eastward. Midway between Orchard Park village and East Aurora, US 20A intersects the southern terminus of New York State Route 187 (Transit Road) at the Orchard Park-Aurora town line. Transit Road, however, continues south for one mile as County Route 553. Farther east, US 20A runs south of the Cazenovia Creek for two miles prior to crossing the creek and entering East Aurora.

The route enters East Aurora on Hamburg Street, running parallel to Cazenovia Creek for a half-mile to Buffalo Street, where US 20A meets the overlapping routes of New York State Route 16 and New York State Route 78 at a traffic circle. The three routes come together, becoming Main Street and running through the center of the village. At Olean Street, one mile east of the circle, NY 16 turns right, continuing south toward Pennsylvania. US 20A and NY 78 remain concurrent as they exit the village and meet New York State Route 400 (the Aurora Expressway) on the eastern edge.

[edit] East Aurora to Warsaw

East of NY 400, US 20A and NY 78 become Big Tree Road once more as it passes through the rural eastern portion of Erie County. Near the Wales hamlet of Wales Center, NY 78 departs US 20A on Strykersville Road, ending the four mile overlap. East of Wales Center, US 20A deviates from its linear east-west alignment, swerving to the south before reuniting with the original routing of Big Tree Road a mile to the east. Two miles ahead, US 20A exits Erie County and enters the Wyoming County town of Sheldon.

In Sheldon, US 20A intersects New York State Route 77 near Sheldon Center and New York State Route 98 in Varysburg, forming a concurrency with the latter into Orangeville. Upon crossing the town line, the two routes split, with NY 98 proceeding southwest to Java. US 20A continues to the southeast on a line, intersecting the southern terminus of New York State Route 238 at Halls Corner, a small hamlet located near the Orangeville-Warsaw town line, before turning to the east as it enters Warsaw. Roughly 1.5 miles from the town line, US 20A enters the village of the same name and becomes Buffalo Street. At the village center, US 20A intersects New York State Route 19, one of two state routes to directly connect Lake Ontario with the New York-Pennsylvania border.

Past the NY 19 junction, US 20A continues east along Buffalo Street to the eastern edge of the village, where the route turns to the north to climb the side of the Wyoming Valley, a large ravine containing Oatka Creek and the entirety of the village of Warsaw. The route ascends approximately 300 feet, passing under the Rochester and Southern Railroad, which runs along the foot of the gorge, before exiting the valley and returning to an east-west alignment.

Trucks over 9 tons are not allowed to descend this hill heading West into the village of Warsaw, due to the steep grade and sharp curve at the bottom. In the 1950's and 1960's, there were a series of accidents on this hill involving tractor trailers - 2 of which involving gasoline tankers.

[edit] Warsaw to Livonia

Outside of the Wyoming Valley, US 20A heads east through the town of Warsaw prior to entering Perry. At Perry Center, directly north of the village of Perry, US 20A intersects New York State Route 246. 2.5 miles from NY 246, US 20A enters the Livingston County town of Leicester.

One mile from the county line and approximately 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Leicester, US 20A intersects New York State Route 39. The two routes converge, following Leicester Road northeast to the village, where the name shifts to Main Street upon entering the village limits. East of a grade crossing with the Genesee and Wyoming Railroad, US 20A and NY 39 intersect New York State Route 36. NY 36 briefly overlaps with US 20A and NY 39 for 700 feet before heading to the south via Mount Morris Road at the village center. Outside of the village, US 20A and NY 39 continue on as Cuylerville Road, named for the community located directly northeast of Leicester. The routes pass in and out of Cuylerville and head eastward into a wide valley, crossing into the town of Geneseo at the Genesee River. East of the river crossing, the road rises in elevation once more as it climbs the eastern edge of the gully to meet New York State Route 63 up top. After a brief concurrency with US 20A and NY 39, NY 63 splits off to the west, running alongside the western edge of the SUNY Geneseo campus. In contrast, US 20A and NY 39 form a portion of the eastern edge of the campus between NY 63 and Mary Jemison Drive. At the latter intersection, US 20A and NY 39 turn east onto South Street. After 200 yards, the US 20A/NY 39 overlap comes to an end as NY 39 follows Main Street north out of Geneseo toward Avon.

East of Geneseo, US 20A takes on a notably northeast alignment and becomes Lakeville Road in anticipation of the Conesus Lake community to the east. Two miles west of Lakeville, US 20A interchanges with Interstate 390 at exit 8. Past the expressway, US 20A continues on a northeast alignment, albeit more eastern than northern, as it intersects New York State Route 256 and enters both the town of Livonia and the hamlet of Lakeville. As Big Tree Road once more, US 20A acts as the major east-west thoroughfare for the community, connecting the hamlet to I-390 in the west to the village of Livonia to the east. In the center of Lakeville, US 20A intersects New York State Route 15. The two routes converge onto Big Tree Road, following the roadway around the northern tip of Conesus Lake and through the rural landscape between Lakeville and Livonia before splitting a short distance inside the village of Livonia. NY 15 continues to the southeast on Big Tree Street while US 20A continues east on Main Street.

[edit] Livonia to East Bloomfield

Outside of Livonia, US 20A becomes Richmond Mills Road, running parallel to Big Tree Road as it heads east. At Bosley Corner, US 20A merges with the north-south New York State Route 15A, following NY 15A south to Hemlock and intersecting Big Tree Road at the midpoint of the concurrency. South of Hemlock, US 20A breaks from NY 15A and continues east on Honeoye Road into Ontario County.

In the town of Richmond, US 20A rejoins Big Tree Road at Curtis Corner. The route, however, becomes Main Street for Honeoye. US 20A runs east-west through the village, crossing Honeoye Creek and passing north of Honeoye Lake prior to reverting back to Honeoye Road and exiting the village. Seven miles northeast of Honeoye in the town of Bristol, US 20A intersects New York State Route 64 in the Bristol Valley. US 20A turns north onto NY 64, forming an unnecessary concurrency with the road in order to reconnect to US 20. This section is signed north-south. Four miles to the north in East Bloomfield, US 20A terminates at an intersection with US 20 and NY 5, with NY 64 continuing west on Routes 5 and 20.

[edit] History

The section of US 20A between East Aurora and Lakeville was originally designated as New York State Route 35 in the mid-1920s. NY 35 also extended west to Buffalo along modern NY 16.^[3] When U.S. Highways were first signed in New York in 1927, the portion of NY 35 between East Aurora and Geneseo became part of U.S. Route 20. US 20 then extended west over a previously unnumbered roadway between East Aurora and Hamburg and east over former NY 36 (modern NY 39) to Avon. The route roughly followed its modern routing west of Hamburg and east of Avon. NY 35 was then shifted northward onto what is now US 20 between Buffalo and Avon as part of the assignment of US 20.^[4] Modern US 20A east of Livonia was unnumbered up to the 1930 renumbering when the portion of US 20A between NY 15 (then NY 2) in Livonia and NY 64 in East Bloomfield was designated as New York State Route 254. NY 254 also extended east to Canandaigua along modern County Road 32.^[5]

US 20 was rerouted to follow its current alignment between Hamburg and Avon in the late 1930s, replacing NY 35.^[6][7] The former routing of US 20 from Hamburg to Geneseo, as well as NY 254 from Livonia to East Bloomfield, became US 20A. US 20A also extended a short distance northward on NY 64 to meet US 20 and NY 5, completing the alternate loop of US 20. The remainder of NY 254 east of NY 64 was removed from the state highway system.^[7]

[edit] Retsof Salt Mine collapse

On the morning of March 12, 1994, a section in the southern end of the Retsof Salt Mine began to collapse^[8]. Over the next few weeks, three large sink holes opened on the surface above the mine, one of them collapsing a small area of Route 20A, between Cuylerville and the Genesee River, very near the historical "Whipping Tree" Site^[9]. 20A was closed at this point, detouring from Leicester to Geneseo. No construction was done on the area for a number of years while a court battle was fought over whether Retsof should reimburse the NYSDOT to fix the road. The road (and new bridge, not previously needed) were fixed and reopened in the late 1990's.

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[1]	Roads intersected	Notes
Erie	Town of Hamburg	0.00	US 20
	Town of Orchard Park	2.40	US 219
	Village of Orchard Park	3.53	NY 240 / NY 277
	Aurora	5.99	NY 187	Southern terminus of NY 187
	East Aurora	9.68	NY 16 north / NY 78 north	Western termini of US 20A/NY 16 and US 20A/NY 78 overlaps
		10.74	NY 16 south	Eastern terminus of overlap
		11.49	NY 400 north	No access to NY 400 south; no access from NY 400 north to US 20A/NY 78
		13.73	NY 78 south	Eastern terminus of overlap
Wyoming	Sheldon	22.09	NY 77
	Varysburg	26.43	NY 98 north	Western terminus of overlap
		27.04	NY 98 south	Eastern terminus of overlap
	Orangeville	32.72	NY 238	Southern terminus of NY 238
	Village of Warsaw	35.98	NY 19
	Town of Perry	42.80	NY 246	Trucks over 9 tons are not allowed to enter the village of Warsaw from this direction
Livingston	Town of Leicester	46.75	NY 39 west	Western terminus of overlap
	Village of Leicester	49.04	NY 36 north	Western terminus of overlap
		49.18	NY 36 south	Eastern terminus of overlap
	Town of Geneseo	52.92	NY 63 south	Southern terminus of overlap
	Village of Geneseo	53.23	NY 63 north (Genesee Street)	Northern terminus of overlap; no access to US 20A/NY 39 east from NY 63 south
		53.83	To NY 63 (Mary Jemison Drive)	Access to US 20A/NY 39 east from NY 63 south; no access from US 20A/NY 39 east
		53.93	NY 39 east	Eastern terminus of overlap
	Town of Geneseo	58.81	I-390	Exit 8 (I-390)
	Town of Livonia	60.04	NY 256
		60.57	NY 15 north	Western terminus of overlap
	Village of Livonia	62.76	NY 15 south	Eastern terminus of overlap
	Town of Livonia	65.76	NY 15A north	Northern terminus of overlap
		67.81	NY 15A south	Southern terminus of overlap
Ontario	East Bloomfield	79.83	NY 64 south	Southern terminus of overlap
		83.59	US 20 / NY 5 / NY 64 north	Northern terminus of US 20A/NY 64 overlap

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ends of Alternate U.S. 20A
• New York - US Route 20A Ends