Interstate 787

Interstate 787 (I-787) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is, per New York traffic data, at the toll plaza for New York State Thruway (I-87) exit 23 southwest of downtown Albany. However, current signage indicates the terminus as along I-787's ramp to US 9W. The northern terminus of the route is unclear, with some sources placing the terminus at 8th Street in Troy, creating an overlap with New York State Route 7 (NY 7) between Green Island and Troy. Other documents show I-787 as terminating at its interchange with NY 7 and NY 787 in the town of Colonie. Regardless, the route is 10.16 miles (16.35 km) long if extended to Troy, or 9.55 miles (15.37 km) excluding the NY 7 overlap.

Interstate 787
Map of New York with I-787 highlighted in red, and exits maintained as reference routes in blue
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-87
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length9.55 mi[1] (15.37 km)
Existedmid-1960s[2][3]–present
Major junctions
South end I-87 / New York Thruway / US 9W in Albany
 
North end NY 7 / NY 787 in Green Island
Location
CountiesAlbany
Highway system
← I-781→ NY 787

North of NY 7, I-787 continues north as NY 787 to the city of Cohoes.

Route description
View from just past the toll barriers at the south end of I-787, looking north at Exit 1.

I-787 officially begins at the toll barrier for I-87/Thruway exit 23; however, a short 0.57-mile (0.92 km) spur between U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) and the interchange connecting I-787 to the Thruway, designated as New York State Route 912S (NY 912S), an unsigned reference route, is signed as I-787.[1][4] At the east end of the interchange (exit 1) with I-87, I-787 northbound merges with NY 912S, progressing due east for a short distance before curving to the northeast ahead of the Delaware and Hudson Railway mainline near exit 2 (NY 32). Past NY 32, I-787 parallels the Hudson River as it heads northward into the heart of downtown Albany, featuring a pair of exits with US 9 and US 20 at a massive interchange southeast of the Empire State Plaza on the west bank of the Hudson.

North of downtown Albany, I-787 interchanges with I-90 at exit 5 prior to crossing into Menands and meeting NY 32 once more at exit 6 by way of a trumpet interchange. The ramp from the trumpet to NY 32, a 0.28-mile (0.45 km) long roadway, is designated as unsigned NY 913T.[1] Farther north in Menands, I-787 intersects NY 378 (exit 7) by way of a near-cloverleaf interchange. In Watervliet, I-787 has one interchange with 23rd Street (exit 8) before reaching another near-cloverleaf interchange with NY 7 and NY 787 (exit 9) in Green Island.

I-787 southbound at exit 4B (US 9 north).

I-787's alignment after exit 9 is unclear. Appendix E of the 2008 New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Traffic Data Report places the terminus at 8th Street in Troy, creating an overlap with NY 7 across the Hudson River via the Collar City Bridge.[1] Additionally, there are shields for I-787 on the Collar City Bridge east of the Hudson River. Other sources, including the National Highway System map of Albany published by the Federal Highway Administration and NYSDOT's official description of signed routes in New York State, identifies the terminus as the NY 7 / NY 787 interchange near Green Island.[5][6] Contemporary maps of the Albany area also lack I-787 shields on the Collar City Bridge, signing the roadway only as NY 7.[7][8]

According to the NYSDOT traffic counts, I-787 is 10.16 miles (16.35 km) long; by limiting I-787 to the section between the Thruway and NY 7, the length is reduced to 9.55 miles (15.37 km).[1]

History
Collar City Bridge traveling west (south on I-787)

Construction began in the early 1960s on the first segment of I-787 from I-87 to Bassett Street.[9][10] It was completed and opened to traffic in the mid-1960s. By 1968, construction had begun on the remainder of I-787 south of Watervliet.[2][3] The portion of the highway between I-90 and NY 378 was completed by 1971;[11] the rest of I-787 south of 23rd Street in Watervliet was built and open to traffic by 1973.[12] The ramps from the South Mall Arterial were opened in 1974.[13] An extension of the freeway north to Arch Street near Green Island was completed by 1977.[14] By 1980, the majority of modern exit 9 was completed even though the Collar City Bridge and the "Alternate Route 7" freeway had yet to be constructed.[15] The Collar City Bridge over the Hudson River was built in 1981, connecting the pre-existing ramps at exit 9 to downtown Troy.[16]

When I-787 was first planned, its northern terminus was at US 4 in Troy. On January 1, 1970, the I-787 designation was truncated westward to what is now exit 9 near Green Island while the then-proposed Collar City Bridge became (albeit on paper) part of I-88, a new highway extending from Binghamton to Troy by way of the Susquehanna Expressway and Alternate Route 7.[17] The extension of I-88 never materialized as Alternate Route 7 ended up becoming a realignment of NY 7 when it was completed in the 1980s.[18][19]

Northbound ramp that slipped off its supports, supported by temporary tower

In 2005, an elevated section of the northbound exit 3 off ramp slipped off its supports, causing temporary closure of the ramp and causing disruption of the flow of traffic into the Empire State Plaza. The ramp connects I-787 with the South Mall Arterial. Initially, most roads and ramps near or under the elevated highway were closed, but once temporary piers were in place, most roads reopened. A detour was set up to allow northbound traffic to enter the Plaza, but it required crossing the Hudson River over the Dunn Memorial Bridge and traveling through the city of Rensselaer to get back on the bridge, allowing access into the Plaza.[20] The slip caused the south end of a simple span of the overpass to drop about 2 feet (0.6 m). The pier stands 80 feet (24.4 m) tall at the slippage point. Nobody was seriously injured by the slipped ramp.[21]

Future

In 2016, New York Assemblymember Patricia Fahy advocated for I-787 to be demolished and to be replaced with an at-grade highway to improve traffic and access to the waterfront.[22][23] In December 2019, Fahy “announced plans to introduce legislation calling for the state Department of Transportation to conduct an engineering feasibility study that would assess the replacement or modification of I-787 to provide ‘greater access to Albany’s waterfront and revitalize working class communities located along its route”. According to Fahy, "'The Capital Region's greatest asset—access to the Hudson River waterfront—has been more or less absent from communities including downtown Albany since the late 1960s and early 1970s when I-787 went up… Following announcements of the removal of several similar highways in cities throughout the state, conducting an engineering feasibility study will provide a blueprint and cost estimates for either removing or transforming I-787 into a boulevard-style roadway'".[24]

In March 2018, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that his administration had awarded $3.1 million toward the conversion of a little-used I-787 exit ramp into a park called the Albany Skyway. The park, which would connect downtown Albany to the Hudson River waterfront, is expected to be completed in 2020.[25][26]

Also in March 2018, a draft report was released regarding the findings of an I-787/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Study. The study was prepared for the Capital District Transportation Committee. The draft report set forth various recommendations for improvements to I-787, including "reconfiguring some interchanges, making the waterfront more accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians, converting from an expressway to a more traditional roadway, and pursuing strategies to reduce travel demand". The draft report noted that 88,000 vehicles per day travel into downtown Albany on I-787. It also noted that the report did not recommend significant changes, such as making I-787 into an underground highway or removing it altogether; such ideas would be complicated by railroad tracks in the I-787 median and by the fact that I-787 is located in a flood plain.[26] Released in May 2019, the final report detailed various possible future plans for I-787. Those potential future plans included the conversion of the entirety of the interstate to an at-grade urban arterial.[27]

Exit list

The entire route is in Albany County.

Locationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Albany0.000.001 I-87 / New York Thruway – New York City, Mass Pike, Buffalo, MontrealExit 23 on I-87 / Thruway
0.320.51 US 9W – Albany, DelmarAccess via 0.57 miles (0.92 km) of NY 912S[1]
0.941.512 NY 32 (South Pearl Street) – Port of AlbanyNY 32 / South Pearl Street only on southbound signage
1.973.173 US 9 south / US 20 east – Rensselaer, Empire PlazaSigned as exit 3A southbound; also serves Albany–Rensselaer station
2.403.864 US 9 north (Clinton Street) / US 20 west (Madison Avenue) – Downtown Albany, Port of AlbanySigned as exits 3B (US 20) and 4B (US 9) southbound; also serves NY 5
2.804.514AColonie Street / Columbia StreetSouthbound exit only
3.365.415 I-90 – Buffalo, Boston, MAExit 6A on I-90
Menands4.206.766 NY 32 – Menands
6.2710.097 NY 378 – Watervliet, Loudonville, Menands, South Troy, TroySigned as 7E (east) and 7W (west); serves Hudson Valley Community College and Joseph L. Bruno Stadium
Watervliet8.9114.34823rd Street – Watervliet, Green IslandTo NY 2
Town of Colonie9.5515.379 NY 7 to I-87 – Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Troy, BenningtonSigned as exits 9E (east) and 9W (west)
– NY 787 north (Cohoes Boulevard) – CohoesContinuation north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
View on I-787 southbound approaching downtown Albany

See also
  • New York State Route 787 for grade level intersections to the north.
  • New York State Route 910F (Fuller Road Alternate), which was intended to connect to I-787 at I-87 and US 9W[4]

References
  1. "2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. pp. 323, 342–343. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  2. New York (Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1965.
  3. New York (Map) (1969–70 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1968.
  4. "Interstate 787 Southbound". AARoads. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
  5. National Highway System - Albany, NY (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 11, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
  6. New York State Department of Transportation (January 2017). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  7. The Road Atlas 2007 (Map). 13/16" = 3 miles. Rand McNally and Company. p. 69. § SH5. ISBN 0-528-95824-0.
  8. New York (Map). 1" = 3 miles. American Map. 2007. § V9. ISBN 0-8416-5418-2.
  9. New York and Metropolitan New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Sinclair Oil Corporation. 1962.
  10. New York and Metropolitan New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Sinclair Oil Corporation. 1964.
  11. New York (Map). Cartography by General Drafting. Humble Oil & Refining Company. 1971.
  12. Northeastern United States With Interstate Strip Maps (Map) (1973–74 ed.). Cartography by Universal Printing Company. Standard Oil. 1973.
  13. "Road Ramps Opening in Albany Today". Schenectady Gazette. April 30, 1974. p. 9. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  14. New York (Map) (1977–78 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Exxon. 1977.
  15. Troy South Quadrangle – New York (Map). 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1980. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  16. Federal Highway Administration (2008). "Structure 1070869". National Bridge Inventory. United States Department of Transportation.
  17. State of New York Department of Transportation (January 1, 1970). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State (PDF). Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  18. New York (Map). Rand McNally and Company. 1985. ISBN 0-528-91040-X.
  19. Upstate New York City Street Maps (Map) (1st ed.). 1" = 1/2 mile. Cartography by DeLorme Mapping. DeLorme Mapping. 1990. p. 39. § D1. ISBN 0-89933-300-1.
  20. Woodruff, Cathy (August 2, 2005). "A slow road to ramp repairs". Times Union. Albany, NY. p. A1. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  21. Nearing, Brian (July 29, 2005). "'Good' ramp goes bad". Times Union. Albany, NY. p. A1. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  22. Fahy, Patricia (September 28, 2019). "Demolish I-787 and the Capital Region will flourish". Times Union. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  23. Johnston, Sandy (February 1, 2016). "What if tearing down I-787 could actually improve traffic?". All Over Albany. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  24. "Remove I-787? Fahy wants a feasibility study". Times Union. December 20, 2019.
  25. "Cuomo announces $3.1 million for Albany Skyway park". Times Union. March 5, 2018.
  26. "Study identifies what to do, and not do, with 787". Times Union. March 14, 2018.
  27. "I-787/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Study". 787waterfrontstudy.blogspot.com. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
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