Interstate 88 (east) - History

History

The 1956 National System of Interstate and Defense Highways Act did not include I-88. New York state officials pressed for addition of the route, and funding was included in the Federal Highway Act of 1968. Right-of-way acquisition started immediately afterward, and I-88 was added to the Interstate Highway System on December 13, 1968. As originally planned by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), I-88 would begin at I-81 in Binghamton and follow the proposed Susquehanna Expressway to Schenectady, from where it would continue to US 4 in Troy over "Alternate Route 7", the limited-access alignment of NY 7 through the northern suburbs of Albany. This would have been accomplished by having I-88 meet the New York State Thruway at exit 25, where it would connect to I-890. I-88 would then continue to Troy over I-890 and an upgraded NY 7. The proposed connection with I-890 was scrapped in the early 1980s in favor of a connection located to the west of exit 25 in Rotterdam.

The first section of I-88 to open was the piece between Chenango Bridge (exit 2) and Sanitaria Springs (4), which opened in the early 1970s. A second piece near Oneonta between exits 13 and 15 was opened to traffic c. 1974. Construction progressed southwestward from Oneonta, with the freeway reaching Nineveh (exit 6) by 1977. The gap between Sanitaria Springs and Nineveh was filled by 1981. The focus then moved to the section of the expressway between Oneonta and Schenectady, which was completed from Oneonta to Duanesburg (exit 24) by 1981. The Duanesburg–Schenectady leg of I-88 was opened to traffic by 1985. In 1989, construction concluded on I-88 with the opening of the final portion of I-88 between I-81 in Chenango and NY 7 in Chenango Bridge.

Interchanges along I-88 were not numbered until the early 1980s, though signs left space for the exit numbers to be easily added with unnumbered exit "tabs". The reason for this is that the NYSDOT MUTCD specified that interchanges on new roadways were to be numbered by distance instead of sequentially, however, this was rescinded with the 1983 edition. Interchanges were ultimately numbered sequentially.

In 1999 NYSDOT, the Federal Highway Administration and the New York State Thruway Authority discussed redesignating the Berkshire Connector as I-90 and redesignating the non-toll part of I-90 from Thruway exit 24 to exit B1 on the Berkshire Connector as I-88. The section of the Thruway between exits 25 and 24 would then be co-designated as I-90 and I-88. This was never implemented.