Search Results for: "Map:" Old Route 8

Old Route 8

Camping opporunties along Old Route 8B south of Speculator.

Old Route 8B

Old Route 8B is a 1915-era routing of NY 8 and 30 between Wells and Speculator that is now a dead-end after the lower bridge was closed some time ago. It runs between Auger Falls and Speculator, passing closely by Austin Falls. Old Route 8B is most famous for Robert Garrow killing a camper at the Robb Creek Mill and then fleeing up Fly Creek Road. There are several campsites along the road, and Austin Falls is a scenic location where the Sacandaga River runs through a narrow floom. The road, while paved with concrete and letter covered with two layers of asphalt only receives the most minimum of maintenance, and is quite rough and disjointed in locations. Old Route 8A refers to the 1915 routing of NY 8 and 30, which at one time ran closer to Auger Falls and wound into the valley, taking a closer path to the Sacanadaga River.

Old Route 8B in 1954

I was surprised to see that NY Route 8 and 30 followed Old Route 8B well into the 1950s, if not the 1960s before the modern alignment. I would have thought such a twisty road with sharp, dangerous curves would have been re-aligned in much earlier on.

The original road was built in 1915, according to bridge inspection reports (click on blue box to pull up the report). Before then, people used Gilmantown Road past Gilmantown Lake to get from Wells to Speculator, with the portion of NY 8 along the East Branch heading south to Wells, until the 1935 bridge was built between NY 30 and NY 8 over the Sacandaga River.

The current alignment was built in 1968 it would appear, based on the fact that the Scandaga River Bridge in Speculator was constructed that year and that looking at historical topographic maps from the mid-1960s still shows the old alignment.

Old Route 8A

Past Auger Falls is quite visible on the aerial photography as the road remains cleared as a grass covered snowmobile trail with most of the pre-1968 routing still visible. 

Interstate 481 and 690 Butternut Interchange

The Butternut Interchange, where I-690 connects with Interstate 481 in the town of DeWitt, includes a pair of unused ramps and grading for additional connections with the unconstructed relocation of New York State Route 5. A 1965 proposal for a bypass of Fayetteville outlined a corridor extending southeast from I-690 and then I-281 along the right of way of the New York Central Railroad, Chenango branch to Route 92 at point near Oran.9 The Fayetteville Bypass was advanced by state officials at a luncheon on March 17, 1967, but without a tentative timetable. Coupled with a proposal to relocate Route 92 to the south of Manluis, the realignment of Route 5 was roughly projected to follow the old Erie Canal east.10 Ultimately neither Route 5, nor the four to six lane highway envisioned for Route 92 east from the Jamesville interchange with I-481 were constructed. Source: https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-690-ny/

While those are interesting connections how they are hooked into the interchange, I could see how this could become a weaving problem.

Onteora Lake

"Located at one of the most popular gateways to the Catskill Forest Preserve, just three miles west of historic Kingston, the 3,000-acre Bluestone Wild Forest, has something for everyone. Its lake, ponds, trails, old quarries, hemlock and oak forests on gently rolling hills - and an occasional cliff- are ideal for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, hunting, trapping, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. There is developed access to Onteora Lake off State Route 28, one of the few publicly accessible lakes in the Catskills." https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/75323.html

Triple Continental Divide in Pennsylvania

Triple Continental Divide in Pennsylvania [Expires November 15 2023]

Pennsylvania has is home to Triple Continental Divide in Potter County. Situated in close proximity to Gold, PA, to the north of Route 6, this location marks the origin of three significant rivers: the Allegheny River, the Genesee River, and Pine Creek. It is the sole Triple Continental Divide found east of the Mississippi River in the United States.