ROUTE 17: Liberty Highway/Quickway

THE QUICKWAY: clearly the undisputed backbone and lifeline of Sullivan County. Within the county, it stretches from the southeast corner at the Orange County line to the northwest corner at the Delaware County line. Statewide, it goes (W-E) from Findley Lake at NY 126 and continues into NJ 17 at Hillburn. It is known as the Southern Tier Expressway west of Binghamton.

To accomodate "Borscht Belt" traffic, Route 17 was built about 1957 to 1960 next the the Old State Highway 17 corridor, which was originally State Route 4. In the early 20th Century, the route from New York to the Catskills was known as Liberty Highway, principally because Liberty was the most prestigious town along the route, with its huge hotels. It eventually stretched all the way to Binghamton, and then further, all the way to the great lakes, about 400 miles long. Currently, old Route 17 holds the State Route 17M designation in Orange County, County Roads 171-179A in Sullivan County, County Road 17 in Delaware County, State Route 17C from Binghamton to Elmira, and then State Route 417 along the rest of the route. The portion of Route 17 from the New Jersey border to Harriman, N.Y., is still on the original alignment, and is the only long stretch that is not an at-grade highway.

Is That A... Light?

Yes, if you have driven northwest enough on Route 17, you might blink your eyes when approaching the famous (or infamous) traffic light at Exit 98 in Parksville. Long Avenue (which is ironically about 200 feet long) and Cooley Road (County Road 85) cut right into the Quickway at "Fiddle's Corner" and there's a four-way traffic light there.

What's Next?

If you have been paying attention lately, you will know that Route 17 (the Quickway and Southern Tier Expressway portions) is on its way to becoming Interstate 86 (the Eastern I-86). On December 3, 1999, the first portion of Route 17 became Interstate Highway 86, from the Pennsylvania State Line to the Chemung-Steuben County Line. Most of the highway is already at Interstate-level standards, but there are a few exceptions, mainly the Exit 98 interchange in Parksville, Sullivan County. However, there are no real plans to demolish Parksville yet... at least not until 2002.