A look at Schenectady in 1950s before Interstate 890 bisected the city and Rice Road was the primary way people go to Exit 26 of Thruway.

Schenectady 1954: https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/Maps/HistoricalTopo/GeoTIFF/NY/NY_Schenectady_129430_1954_24000_geo.tif

Rotterdam 1954: https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/Maps/HistoricalTopo/GeoTIFF/NY/NY_Rotterdam%20Junction_129227_1954_24000_geo.tif

With the Normans Kill and Interstate 88 winding it's way down to the Rotterdam Thruway Interchange.

The idea of a Rotterdam–Glenville connector across the Mohawk River was proposed as early as the 1960s. Parts of the right-of-way of NY 890, including the bridges carrying what is now NY 890 over the ramp leading from NY 890 west to NY 5S, were built as part of I-890's construction in 1973. Construction of the remainder of the route was delayed for decades due to a lack of funds. Work on the highway finally resumed in 1996, and the length of NY 890 was opened to traffic in October 1998. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_890

Long before the Warren Anderson Expressway.