I'm at that age where I can remember when there was no Southern Tier Expressway (Route 17/Interstate 86) with a divided four-lane highway, Interstate 81, or 88. Growing up in the western part of the Southern Tier (the greater Corning New York area), to get to points north (Rochester) and south (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, we drove on the two-lane Route 15.

Do you remember that if you were heading from the Binghamton area to points northeast towards Albany, you drove on the two-lane on Route 7? If I remember correctly, when my family, would travel from the Corning area to the Binghamton area, we took Route 17, but it was just a 2 lane road. Is that right?

It's amazing to see all the changes to our roadways over the course of our lifetime, and more so for those of us who have been around for a few decades. When the Route 17 expressway became a reality, it changes the way we traveled throughout the greater Binghamton area.

I found it interesting when watching a video from 1951 that touted the new New York State Thruway, its future economic impact on the greater Binghamton area, and that it will help make city traffic better.

Funny thing is, the closest entrance to New York State Thruway from Binghamton is in Syracuse, about 90 miles away, and what that has to do with Binghamton traffic confuses me. Sure, the NYS Thruway helps with moving commerce to our area and helping to grow the area via the many highway systems, but did it really make the difference this video declares that it would?

No matter, our roadways have been through major changes for the better, including the recent changes in the area of the intersection of Route 17/Interstate 86 and Interstate 81.

Route 17/Interstate fun fact: When traveling to or from Elmira/Corning to the Binghamton area, you briefly leave New York State, and into Pennsylvania between Wavery and Sayre. I found that to be a fun trivia question for those who had no idea.

[via YouTube]

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