page_title: Interstate 90
section_title: New York
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 90 / Route description / New York
caption_attribution_description: I took this picture myself in the late 1990s. This sign has since been replaced. Another all metric sign for Exit 36 existed as well. It was replaced at the same time.
context_page_description: Interstate 90 is an east–west transcontinental freeway, and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at 3,020.54 miles. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at State Route 519 near T-Mobile Park and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in Boston, at Route 1A near Logan International Airport.
  The western portion of I-90 crosses the Continental Divide over Homestake Pass just east of Butte, Montana, connecting major cities such as Spokane, Washington; Billings, Montana; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Madison, Wisconsin.
  Between Seattle and the Wisconsin-Illinois state line, I-90 is an Interstate without tolls. East of that border, much of I-90 follows several toll roads, many of which predate the Interstate Highway system. These include the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, Chicago Skyway, Indiana Toll Road, Ohio Turnpike, New York State Thruway, and the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Interstate is not tolled through some segments in downtown Chicago; Greater Cleveland and the rest of Northeast Ohio; Erie and the rest of Northwestern Pennsylvania; and through brief sections near Buffalo and Albany.
context_section_description: I-90 runs concurrently with the New York State Thruway upon entering the state of New York. Between the Pennsylvania state line and the Syracuse interchange, it is also signed as the "AMVETS Memorial Highway". It follows the Lake Erie coast until Buffalo, where it joins the old Water Level Route until Albany. There, it takes a short detour along the Rensselaer County Veterans Memorial Highway before joining the New York State Thruway Berkshire Connector.
  Almost all of the New York portion of the road is a toll road, comprising the east–west portion of the New York State Thruway mainline and part of the Berkshire Connector, operated by the New York State Thruway Authority. It was originally constructed as part of the Thruway project in the middle 1950s and received its current designation as I-90 in 1958. The road roughly follows the course of the 19th-century Erie Canal for much of its length in New York State. "I-90" (operated by NYSDOT) carries I-90 between the two; however, the Berkshire Section directly connects to the mainline at Thruway interchange 21A 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of the point where I-90 joins it at Thruway interchange B1.
  The mileposts and exit numbers on the New York State Thruway mainline originate at the New York City line and increase northward along I-87 and westward along I-90. As a result, mileposts and exit numbers on the I-90 section of the Thruway mainline increase from east to west, contrary to modern practices where numbers increase from the west or south. The NYSDOT-maintained portion in between, known to locals as "I-90," does number its mileage and exits in the traditional west-to-east method. Coincidentally, the NYSDOT maintained portion of I-90 is oriented geographically north–south for most of its length, so the exit numbers seem to increase from north to south. Exit and milepost numbering starts over again when the Berkshire Section of the Thruway begins, with exit and mile numbers preceded by the letter B (Exit B1, Exit B2, Mile B1, Mile B2, etc.)
  There once were two metric-only signs on the westbound New York State Thruway around Syracuse, which is about 100 miles (160 km) from Ontario. The NYS Thruway Authority decided to test metric signage, which may have briefly included an 88 km/h (55 mph) speed limit sign, on the Thruway. There was also a sign displaying the distance to the I-81 interchange in kilometers in DeWitt. These signs are now only displayed in mile figures.
  I-90 is currently the only Interstate having a complete set of nine spur routes (190, 290, 390...890, 990) within one state, in New York. I-80 in California has had all nine, but never all at the same time. In addition, I-990, a short spur route near Buffalo, New York not directly connected to I-90, is the highest number given to an Interstate.
  I-790 in Utica used to have a completely direct connection with I-90 at Thruway interchange 31. Various road redesign projects over the years have eventually led to this direct connection being partially severed. Traffic exiting the Thruway must use two different surface streets to reach I-790. However, it is still possible to travel from I-790 directly onto the Thruway. I-790 has some other oddities: no exit numbers, no reassurance markers, and it runs concurrently with New York State Route 5 (NY 5) for its entire length.
  The New York section of I-90 west of the Berkshire Section of the New York Thruway is defined as Interstate Route 504 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.
caption: I-90 metric sign for NY Thruway exit 35