Interstate 86

(east)

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

Interstate 86 was once assigned to what is now Interstate 84 east of East Hartford, Connecticut.

Interstate 86
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

191.6 mi^[1] (308.4 km)

West end:

I-90 in Erie, PA

Major
junctions:

US 219 near Salamanca, NY

I-390 near Avoca, NY

US 15 near Corning, NY

East end:

Temporary:

NY 14/17 in Horseheads, NY
Future:

I-87 in Harriman, NY

< Corridor S

Corridor U >

Interstate 86 (I-86) is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. Known as the Southern Tier Expressway and Quickway (split by Interstate 81 at Binghamton, New York), the route will connect Interstate 90 near Erie, Pennsylvania, with Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) near Harriman, New York. As of October 2006, it runs east from I-90 to New York State Route 14 in Horseheads (near Elmira). In September 2006, a 9.9 mile section of New York State Route 17 just east of Binghamton (between Exits 75 and 79) was designated as I-86, bringing the total length of highway designated as I-86 to 195 miles (with only 186 miles remaining to be designated).^[2] Once completed, I-86 will stretch 388 miles (624 km) across the Southern Tier of New York from I-90 to I-87,^[1] shorter than the 460 miles (740 km) along the flatter New York State Thruway to the north. NY-17 will then be essentially a north-south extension of a New Jersey route with the same number, terminating in the New York City suburbs.

Several sections of NY 17 are not up to freeway or Interstate standards, and need to be upgraded before I-86 can be designated along its full length. These substandard sections are located near Elmira, Binghamton, and the Catskill Mountains.

I-86 currently travels 6.99 miles^[3] (11.25 km) in Pennsylvania and 184.6 miles (297.1 km) in New York.^[1] Except for a section of about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) that dips into Pennsylvania near Waverly, New York but is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation, the rest of I-86 will be in New York.

The Southern Tier Expressway section west of Binghamton is also Corridor T of the Appalachian Development Highway System. An extension of the U.S. Route 219 Southern Expressway will also join Interstate 86.

Route description

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
Erie, Pennsylvania Jamestown, New York Olean, New York Corning, New York Elmira, New York Binghamton, New York pending extension

Pennsylvania to Olean

I-86 begins at Interstate 90 in a relatively flat area of northwestern Pennsylvania, and crosses into New York, heading towards Chautauqua Lake. This piece was built along a new alignment in the 1980s as a two-lane freeway and widened to four lanes in 1996.^[4] The New York section of I-86, including the planned extensions, is defined as Interstate Route 507 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.^[5]

After crossing Chautauqua Lake, I-86 merges into an older section of freeway at exit 10 near Bemus Point; this freeway is now NY Route 954J northwest of the newer extension. NY 954J runs into NY Route 430, which (along with NY Route 394) carried NY 17 to Westfield before the 1980s extension. From Bemus Point to Jamestown (exit 12), I-86 parallels the old NY 17 - now NY Route 430 - along the northeast shore of Chautauqua Lake. The Erie Railroad extension to Chicago (built as the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad) comes into Jamestown from the southwest, and parallels I-86 to its junction with the Erie's original main line to Dunkirk at Salamanca.

From Jamestown to Salamanca, the old NY 17 (now mostly NY Route 394), the new I-86 and the railroad run generally parallel through river valleys. The transportation routes run along the Chadakoin River, Conewango Creek and Little Conewango Creek to Steamburg (exit 17), cutting east to the Allegheny River at Coldspring there. The valley of the Allegheny takes the routes to Salamanca (exit 20), where the railroads merged, and beyond to Olean (25). From Salamanca to Olean, the old NY 17 is now NY Route 417. At Olean, the Allegheny River and NY 417 (old NY 17) continue southeast, while I-86 and the Erie Railroad head northeast. NY 417 does not return to I-86 until exit 44 near Painted Post, and the Erie switches between the two alignments several times.

Olean to Elmira

I-86 and the Erie run northeast along the valleys of the Olean Creek and Oil Creek to Cuba (exit 28). From Cuba to Friendship (exit 29), they run through a valley and over a summit, then following the Van Campen Creek northeast to Belvidere (exit 30). At Belvidere, the Erie turns southeast to meet NY 417 at Wellsville, but I-86 continues northeast through the valleys of the Genesee River and Angelica Creek to Angelica (exit 31), and then east along the Angelica Creek, over a summit, and along the Karr Valley Creek to Almond (exit 33). This summit, at 2,110 feet (634 m) above sea level, is the highest point along I-86, located between exits 32 (West Almond) and 33 and marked with a sign.^[6]

At Almond, I-86 rejoins the Erie Railroad, passing through the Canacadea Creek valley about halfway to Hornellsville. However, where the railroad turns southeast to Hornellsville, I-86 continues northeast across a summit and into the wide Canisteo River valley (exit 34). It leaves the valley along the Carrington Creek, but quickly turns east across a summit to follow the Big Creek and cross another summit to Howard (exit 35). I-86 runs alongside Goff Creek from Howard to the wide Cohocton River valley, where it meets the south end of Interstate 390 (exit 36) near Avoca and turns southeast through that valley, parallel to the Erie's Rochester-Painted Post line (Buffalo, New York and Erie Railroad).

I-86, NY Route 415 (old U.S. Route 15) and the Erie branch all run southeast along the Cohocton River past Bath (exit 38) to Painted Post (exit 44), now the north end of US 15. NY 417 - old NY 17 - also ends at exit 44, while NY 415 continues east into Corning (exits 45-46). From Painted Post through Corning to Big Flats (exit 49), I-86, NY Route 352 (old NY 17) and the Erie Railroad run through the Chemung River valley. NY 352 begins at exit 45, west of downtown Corning, and is a recently-bypassed four-lane road through Corning. East of East Corning (exit 48), the freeway was built as an on-the-spot upgrade of the old NY 17.

At Big Flats, the Chemung River (and NY 352) turns southeast to downtown Elmira, while I-86 and the Erie continue east-northeast alongside Singsing Creek and across a low summit before turning south at Horseheads along Newtown Creek to Elmira. The present end of I-86 is at NY Route 14 (exit 52) in Elmira.

The surface road in Horseheads crossed several major arterial roads in a fully developed area, which has made this one of the most expensive sections to upgrade. Construction, however, has now been completed to upgrade it to a freeway, by building a large arrangement of embankments and bridges. Another non-freeway section is present just east of the Elmira area, in a less developed area.

Future

Elimination of at-grade intersections between exits 56 and 59 near Chemung.
Elimination of "Kamikaze Curve" just west of Interstate 81 in Binghamton
Elimination of at-grade intersections between exits 84 and 87 and between exits 97 and 99 in the Catskills
Other interchange improvements in the Catskills

Major intersections

Interstate 90 near Erie, Pennsylvania
Future Interstate To Be Numbered (currently US 219) in Salamanca, New York
Interstate 390 near Avoca, New York
Future Interstate 99 in Painted Post, New York
Interstate 81 near Interstate 88 in Binghamton (once extended)
Interstate 84 in Middletown, New York (once extended)
Interstate 87 at Harriman, New York (once extended)

Exit list

Exits are numbered from west to east, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines.

Municipality	Mile	#		Destinations	Opened^[7]	Notes
Municipality	Mile	Old		Destinations	Opened^[7]	Notes
Erie County, PA
Greenfield Township, PA	0		1	Interstate 90 - Erie; Buffalo, New York	ca. 1987	westbound exit and eastbound entrance; split into 1A (west) and 1B (east); ramps are SR 8170
Greenfield Township, PA		2	3	PA Route 89 - North East; Wattsburg	ca. 1987	ramps are SR 8171

The state line is at mile 6.99.

Municipality	Mile	#	Destinations	Opened^[7]	Notes
Chautauqua County, New York
Mina, New York	1.03	4	NY Route 426 - Findley Lake	ca. 1973
Sherman, New York	9.17	6	NY Route 76 - Sherman	ca. 1973
North Harmony, New York	15.34	7	Panama; Chautauqua Institution	ca. 1982
North Harmony, New York	18.86	8	NY Route 394 - Mayville; Lakewood	ca. 1982
Ellery, New York	20.22	9	NY Route 430 east - Bemus Point	ca. 1982	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Ellery, New York	20.29	10	to NY Route 430 - Bemus Point (NY Route 954J)	ca. 1982
Ellicott, New York	26.23	11	Strunk Road (NY Route 953B)	ca. 1973
Ellicott, New York	28.00	12	NY Route 60 - Jamestown	ca. 1973
Ellicott, New York	30.69	13	NY Route 394 - Falconer	ca. 1971
Poland, New York	36.04	14	U.S. Route 62 - Kennedy; Warren, PA	ca. 1968
Cattaraugus County, New York
Randolph, New York	39.33	15	School House Road (NY Route 953A)	ca. 1968
Randolph (village), New York	41.38	16	West Main Street - Randolph; Gowanda (NY Route 952M)	ca. 1968
Coldspring, New York	47.88	17	NY Route 394 - Steamburg; Onoville (NY Route 950A)	ca. 1967	opened ca. 1971 between exits 16 and 17
Coldspring, New York	50.61	18	NY Route 280 - Allegany State Park Quaker Run Area	ca. 1967
Red House, New York	54.43	19	Allegany State Park Red House Area	ca. 1970
Salamanca, New York	58.14	20	NY Route 417; NY Route 353, NY Route 951T - Salamanca	ca. 1980
Salamanca, New York	60.45	21	U.S. Route 219 north - Parkway Drive; Salamanca (NY Route 951M)	ca. 1980	US 219 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
Carrollton, New York	67.52	23	U.S. Route 219 south - Limestone; Bradford, PA (NY Route 954T)	ca. 1987	US 219 joins westbound and leaves eastbound. Will be extended.
Allegany, New York	74.07	24	NY Route 417 - Allegany; St. Bonaventure University (NY Route 952W)	ca. 1973
Olean, New York	77.27	25	Buffalo Street - Olean (NY Route 954E)	ca. 1973
Olean, New York	78.77	26	NY Route 16 - Olean	ca. 1972
Hinsdale, New York	84.69	27	NY Route 16; NY Route 446 - Hinsdale	ca. 1972
Allegany County, New York
Cuba (village), New York	91.35	28	NY Route 305 - Cuba	ca. 1972
Friendship, New York	98.72	29	NY Route 275 - Friendship; Bolivar	ca. 1973
Amity, New York	104.45	30	NY Route 19 - Belmont; Wellsville	ca. 1973
Angelica (village), New York	108.55	31	Angelica	ca. 1973
West Almond, New York	115.78	32	West Almond	ca. 1973
Almond (village), New York	123.61	33	NY Route 21 - Almond; Andover (NY Route 962A)	ca. 1973
Steuben County, New York
Hornellsville, New York	128.30	34	NY Route 36 - Arkport; Hornell	ca. 1970	split into 34S (south) and 34N (north)
Howard, New York	137.98	35	Howard (NY Route 962B)	ca. 1970
Avoca	145.17	36	Interstate 390 north; NY Route 15 north - Rochester; Buffalo	ca. 1973	NY Route 15 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
Bath, New York	146.30	37	NY Route 53 - Kanona; Prattsburg	ca. 1973
Bath, New York	149.50	38	NY Route 54 - Bath; Hammondsport	ca. 1971
Town of Bath	152.61	39	NY Route 415 - Bath (NY Route 960U)	ca. 1969
Bath, New York	156.40	40	NY Route 226 - Savona	ca. 1969
Campbell, New York	161.20	41	County Route 333 - Campbell	ca. 1967
Campbell	165.24	42	Coopers Plains (NY Route 960M)	ca. 1967
Erwin, New York	167.51	43	NY Route 415 - Painted Post	ca. 1959
Painted Post, New York	168.64	44	U.S. Route 15 south; NY Route 417 west - Gang Mills; Williamsport, PA; Painted Post	ca. 1951 rebuilt ca. 1989	NY Route 15 begins westbound and ends eastbound
Riverside, New York	169.02	45	NY Route 352 - Riverside; Downtown Corning	ca. 1995	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Riverside, New York		45	NY Route 415 - Riverside	ca. 1995	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Corning	171.49	46	NY Route 414 - Watkins Glen; Corning Museum of Glass	ca. 1985
Corning	174.20	47	NY Route 352 - Gibson; East Corning; Downtown Corning (NY Route 961Q)	ca. 1985
Corning	176.57	48	NY Route 352 - East Corning (NY Route 961T)	ca. 1985
Chemung County, New York
Big Flats	178.85	49	Big Flats	ca. 1985
Big Flats		50	County Route 63 - Regional Airport; Kahler Road	ca. 2003
Big Flats	182.30	51A	Chambers Road - Shopping Malls; Regional Airport	ca. 1969
Big Flats		51B	Colonial Drive - Shopping Mall		westbound exit only
Horseheads, New York		52A	Commerce Center Road (NY Route 962E)	ca. 1970	no westbound exit
Horseheads, New York	184.35	52B	NY Route 14 - Watkins Glen; Elmira Heights (NY Route 962E)	ca. 1970	split into 52S (south) and 52N (north) westbound
I-86 continues east as NY 17

County	Municipality	Mile	#	Destinations	Opened^[7]	Notes
I-86 continues west as I-81/NY 17
Broome	Kirkwood, New York	249.62	75	Interstate 81 south; U.S. Route 11 - Scranton, PA; Industrial Park (NY Route 990G)	ca. 1963	I-81 joins westbound and leaves eastbound; exit number signed westbound only
	Kirkwood, New York	251.31	76	Haskins Road; Foley Road	ca. 2000
	Windsor, New York		77	West Windsor	ca. 2000
	Windsor, New York	256.25	78	Dunbar Road - Occanum	ca. 1961
	Windsor (village), New York	259.64	79	NY Route 79 - Windsor	ca. 1960
I-86 continues east as NY 17

References

Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68	69
70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Primary			Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
		Auxiliary			Main - Future - Unsigned
		Other			Standards - Business - Bypassed

Appalachian Development Highway System
A • A-1 • B • B-1 • C • C-1 • D • E • F • G • H • I • J • K • L • M • N • O • O-1 • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • X-1