New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and runs east as a limited-access highway, following the Southern Tier Expressway to Binghamton and the Quickway from Binghamton east to Woodbury. At Woodbury, the route turns south to become a local arterial, eventually following the Orange Turnpike to the New Jersey state line near Suffern. The portion of NY 17 west of Woodbury is in the process of being upgraded to Interstate 86, and as of February 2025, the routes are concurrent from the Pennsylvania border to Vestal and from Kirkwood to Windsor.
At , NY 17 is the longest state route in New York, and is the second-longest highway of any kind in the state, behind only the New York State Thruway. It serves 11 counties, passes through the cities of Salamanca, Olean, Corning, Elmira, and Binghamton, and enters the vicinity of several others, including Jamestown and Middletown. As it proceeds across the state, it intersects many of New York's major Interstate and U.S. Highways, including U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Salamanca, I-390 in Avoca, I-99 and US 15 near Corning, I-81 and US 11 in Binghamton, I-84 and US 6 near Middletown, and I-87 in Woodbury. Aside from a brief concurrency with the Thruway near Hillburn, the route is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation, including a portion in the vicinity of Waverly that is physically located in Pennsylvania.
Initially part of an auto trail called the Liberty Highway, the route was added to the state highway system in 1924, extending from Westfield to Suffern via at-grade highways. As traffic demand surged, it was moved onto the Quickway and the Southern Tier Expressway as limited-access sections of both were completed from the 1950s to the 1990s. In 1998, all of NY 17 between the Pennsylvania state line and Woodbury was designated as "Future I-86". The westernmost of the route was designated as I-86 one year later, and the designation has been gradually extended eastward as sections of NY 17 were improved to Interstate Highway standards. Prior to the I-86 designation, NY 17 was part of a multi-state Route 17 along with New Jersey Route 17 and the former Pennsylvania Route 17.
Route description
Pennsylvania to Elmira
NY 17 begins as a freeway at the point where I-86 crosses the New York–Pennsylvania border in Mina, Chautauqua County. I-86 heads westward from there to its western terminus at I-90. I-86 and NY 17 continue eastward through the Southern Tier, encountering NY 426 (exit 4) a short distance from the state line prior to meeting NY 76 (exit 6) south of Sherman. East of exit 8 (NY 394), I-86 and NY 17 cross Chautauqua Lake and follow the lake shore eastward to Jamestown, where it connects to NY 60 at exit 12 due north of the city. East of the city, the freeway meets US 62 at exit 14 and is joined by the old Erie Railroad line, which parallels the freeway as it heads across southern New York.
Between exits 17 and 18 (NY 280), I-86 and NY 17 cross the Allegheny Reservoir near its northernmost extent. Past NY 280, the freeway runs adjacent to the northern extent of the Allegany State Park and follows the reservoir and the connecting Allegheny River eastward to Salamanca. Near downtown Salamanca, I-86 and NY 17 meet US 219 (exit 21). US 219 joins the freeway east to exit 23 near Carrollton, where it splits from I-86 and NY 17 and heads toward Bradford, Pennsylvania, forming the eastern edge of the state park as it heads south. Meanwhile, the freeway continues east to Olean, where it meets NY 417 (a previous alignment of NY 17) at exit 24 west of town and NY 16 (exit 27) north of the area.
Past Olean, the route drifts northward away from Pennsylvania toward Hornell, where I-86 and NY 17 intersect NY 36 (exit 34). To the east in Avoca, the Southern Tier Expressway meets I-390 at exit 36. I-86 and NY 17 southeast from the junction, passing through Bath on its way an interchange with I-99 and US 15 in Painted Post (exit 44). Here, I-99 and US 15 begin and head south toward Pennsylvania, while I-86 and NY 17 continue east through Corning to the city of Elmira.
Elmira to Harriman
From Elmira to Binghamton, NY 17, the Erie Railroad (now operated by Norfolk Southern as the Southern Tier Line), and its old alignments generally stay close together. They follow the Chemung River to exit 60 (US 220 in South Waverly, Pennsylvania) and the Susquehanna River from east of exit 61 (Waverly, New York) to Binghamton; on the latter section, both NY 17C and NY 434 are old NY 17. Between the two rivers, which intersect in Pennsylvania, the general corridor runs just north of the state line in New York. NY 17 itself crosses into Pennsylvania for approximately between a point west of exit 60 and a point west of exit 61; additionally, all the ramps at exit 60 and portions of the eastbound ramps at exits 59A and 61 are in Pennsylvania. Despite being in Pennsylvania, it is still signed as NY 17, and these roadways are still maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation. The Southern Tier Expressway is marked with circular shields instead of keystones and labeled "NY 17" instead of just "17". At the Tioga County line near Waverly, I-86 temporarily terminates as NY 17 continues eastward toward Binghamton.
Near downtown Binghamton, NY 17 goes around the side of Prospect Mountain at what is locally known as "kamikaze curve"."Kamikaze Curve - Binghamton, New York" Heading eastbound, the freeway curves sharply left around the hillside, splits into ramps to I-81 north and south, and curves right to merge into I-81 south as it passes over the Chenango River. From that point east and southeast about , I-81 and NY 17 run concurrently. NY 17 splits from I-81, the Erie Railroad and the Susquehanna River to the east into Stilson Hollow; from this split (exit 75) to its end, most of NY 17 does not follow the Erie Railroad, which crosses into Pennsylvania several times.
At the end of Stilson Hollow, NY 17 heads over a summit and into the valley formed by the Occanum Creek. The creek empties into the Susquehanna River at Windsor (exit 79), which NY 17 follows southeast to Damascus (exit 80) before turning northeast along Tuscarora Creek. It soon turns east and southeast over a summit, rejoining the Erie Railroad just north of Gulf Summit. The highway and railroad head east along Oquaga Creek to Deposit (exit 84), where they turn southeast along the West Branch Delaware River, where NY 17 briefly becomes an arterial road. A gap in the freeway stretches from here to just short of Hancock (exit 87), the place the West Branch joins with the East Branch Delaware River. The Erie Railroad continues southeast along the combined Delaware River, while NY 17 turns east along the valley formed by the East Branch, either closely following or built directly over the abandoned New York, Ontario and Western Railway to Liberty.
At East Branch (exit 90), the East Branch Delaware River turns north, and NY 17 continues east with the Beaver Kill to Roscoe (exit 94), Willowemoc Creek to Livingston Manor (exit 96), and Little Beaver Kill to Parksville (exit 98). The highway and parallel NYO&W pass south over a summit to Liberty (exits 99–100), and continue along the Middle Mongaup River to Ferndale (exit 101). The NYO&W turned east there, but NY 17 continues south over a summit and into the Spring Brook and East Mongaup River valleys past Harris (exit 102). NY 17 then cuts southeast cross-country to Monticello (exit 104; passing Monticello Raceway) and beyond, following the old Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike (old NY 17) to Bloomingburg (exit 116). The old Middletown and Wurtsboro Turnpike, also old NY 17, and partially NY 17M, runs south to Middletown, which NY 17 cuts cross-country to bypass to the east, rejoining NY 17M – and the main line of the Erie Railroad – at Goshen (exit 123). NY 17, its old former alignment (NY 17M) and the Erie run generally east-southeast, partly cross-country and partly through small stream valleys, to the end of the freeway, the directional change in NY 17 from east–west to north–south, and the junction of the Erie with its branch to Newburgh.
Harriman to New Jersey NY 17 heads southwest from the Quickway as a surface road, passing through the village of Woodbury before entering the village of Harriman, where it intersects with the eastern terminus of NY 17M. As the route heads southward from this junction, its signage changes from being east or west to north or south. The route parallels the Thruway as it proceeds through a disjointed piece of Harriman State Park and enters the town of Tuxedo. While inside the park, NY 17 intersects Arden Valley Road, a parkway that connects to Seven Lakes Drive deep inside the park. South of Arden Valley Road, NY 17 briefly exits Harriman State Park and enters the hamlet of Southfields, where it intersects with County Route 19 (CR 19) and passes by the Red Apple Rest, a former restaurant and roadside attraction.
Past the hamlet, the route heads back into the park and intersects with NY 17A and CR 106 near the park's western boundary. South of the junction, NY 17 leaves the park and proceeds through a lightly populated area to the village of Tuxedo Park. At the Tuxedo Park train station is access to some hiking trails in Harriman State Park. The route continues on, paralleling the Thruway into Rockland County. On the other side of the county line, NY 17 enters the village of Sloatsburg, where it meets Seven Lakes Drive and connects to CR 72 by way of a modified trumpet interchange.
Outside of Sloatsburg, NY 17 becomes a four-lane expressway and winds its way southeasterly along the Ramapo River and the Thruway through the town of Ramapo to the hamlet of the same name, based just north of NY 17's junction with NY 59. Here, NY 17 turns to the southwest, merging onto the Thruway southbound at exit 15A, traversing a sparsely developed area of the village of Hillburn. About south of merging onto the Thruway, NY 17 passes to the south of the village center as it approaches I-287. At exit 15A for New Jersey, NY 17 leaves the Thruway and merges with I-287 southbound and proceeds to the New Jersey state line, where it connects to New Jersey's Route 17. An old alignment of NY 17 in Hillburn, now called Old Route 17 used to go around the Thruway instead of merging onto it.
History
Origins
Before the automobile
From Binghamton to Corning, NY 17 follows the course of the Great Bend and Bath Turnpike, which was legislated in 1808 to continue the Cochecton and Great Bend Turnpike (US 11) through the Susquehanna Valley. The road ran from the Pennsylvania state line at Great Bend through Binghamton, Owego, and Elmira to Bath. In its day, it was a major route of travel through the Susquehanna Valley. Today, the road is designated US 11 from Pennsylvania to Binghamton, then NY 17C to Waverly, NY 352 into Corning, and NY 415 to Bath. The at-grade sections of NY 17 in Orange County follow the Orange Turnpike south of Southfields and the New Windsor and Cornwall Turnpike to its north.
Liberty Highway and Legislative Route 4 The original routing of NY 17, from Westfield to Harriman, was largely designated in 1908 by the New York State Legislature as Route 4, an unsigned legislative route. This routing was incorporated in 1918 as the main portion of an auto trail called the Liberty Highway, which connected New York City to Cleveland via Hackensack, Liberty, the Southern Tier, and Erie.