Interstate 90 in New York

West of Albany, I-90 in New York is designated along the mainline of the New York State Thruway. The Thruway begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Chautauqua County, following the shore of Lake Erie northeast and passes through the town of Cheektowaga, a large suburb of Buffalo directly east of the city. Two auxiliary routes, I-190 (leading to Niagara Falls and connecting into Canada as Ontario Highway 405) and I-290 (a northerly bypass of Buffalo) connect with I-90 here. Both auxiliary routes provide access between I-90 and Canada's largest city, Toronto. East of Erie County, the Thruway turns east and passes through the suburbs of several major cities in Upstate New York, generally following the path of the Erie Canal. It passes south of Rochester and north of Syracuse, which are served by three auxiliary Interstate Highways: I-490 and I-390 connect to Rochester, while I-690 leads to Syracuse.[3] The speed limit, enforced by the New York State Police, is 65 miles per hour along most of this stretch.[4]

Approaching exit 54 on I-90 westbound in West Seneca

East of Syracuse, the Thruway follows the Erie Canal and, later, the Mohawk River into the Mohawk Valley toward Utica, where I-90 skirts the northern edge of downtown and meets I-790, a short route leading into the city's center. Farther east, the freeway indirectly serves the canal and riverside cities of Little Falls (via NY 169) and Amsterdam (NY 30) on its way to Schenectady, where I-890 splits from the Thruway and serves as the connection to the city center. It rejoins I-90 in Albany County, where I-90 leaves the mainline of the Thruway at exit 24 in Albany, which is signed for I-87 north and I-90 east. Here, the route designation of the Thruway changes from I-90 east to I-87 south. Traffic intending to continue on I-90 or reach I-87 north must exit the Thruway here. Exit numbers and mile markers for I-90 reset after exiting.[3]

Guilderland Service Area

The Albany–Schodack section of I-90—the only portion of I-90 in New York that is not part of the Thruway system—begins concurrent with I-87 and heads southeast from Thruway exit 24 to a toll barrier that, for now, marks the end of tolls along the freeway. Now a toll-free highway, I-90 and I-87 continue to exits 1N and 1S, which are for the Adirondack Northway (I-87) and Fuller Road Alternate (unsigned NY 910F), respectively. Located off exit 1S and Fuller Road Alternate, a spur of the Northway leading to Western Avenue (US 20), is the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. I-90 proceeds eastward, meeting Washington Avenue at an interchange connecting to UAlbany, a state university, eastbound and Fuller Road (County Route 156 or CR 156) westbound.[5]

Exits 3 and 4, located 0.6 miles (1.0 km) apart in an area bounded by Washington and Central (NY 5) avenues, lead to the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus and the New York State Police Academy (exit 3) and to the Crosstown Arterial (NY 85 at exit 4). I-90 subsequently crosses over NY 5 and passes north of Westgate Plaza as it connects to Everett Road (CR 155). The freeway continues along the northern edge of Albany to exit 5A,[5] a large trumpet interchange originally built to serve I-687.[6] After that project was cancelled, it was repurposed as an exit for Corporate Woods Boulevard. East of exit 5A, I-90 passes by slightly more residential areas ahead of a stack interchange with US 9 1 mile (1.6 km) north of downtown Albany. Albany Memorial Hospital is located just north of the exit on US 9.[5]

The stack interchange between I-90 and US 9 in Albany as seen from I-90 eastbound

Not far to the east of US 9 is a second stack interchange, connecting I-90 to I-787 in the industrial northeasternmost section of the city of Albany. At this point, I-90 turns to the southeast and follows the Patroon Island Bridge over the Hudson River and into Rensselaer County. Across the river, I-90 becomes the Rensselaer County Veterans Memorial Highway and passes through much less developed areas. In its first 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in the county, the freeway meets Washington Avenue at the northern edge of the city of Rensselaer and the west end of NY 43 in the town of North Greenbush, southwest of US 4 and Defreestville. South of NY 43, I-90 and US 4 follow parallel routings into East Greenbush, where I-90 directly connects to US 4 at exit 9.[5]

I-90 heads southeastward across an undeveloped, forested section of the county, crossing over NY 151 and entering the town of Schodack, where it meets Miller Road, a connector between I-90 and the concurrent routes of US 9 and US 20. The freeway and the overlapping U.S. Routes follow similar routings to Schodack Center, at which point I-90 finally connects to US 9 and US 20 at exits 11E and 11W. I-90 heads due south from this point, passing over NY 150 and paralleling US 9, which splits from US 20 at Schodack Center. The routes cross paths again at exit 12 just north of where I-90 rejoins the Thruway system at a toll barrier preceding exit B1 of the Berkshire Connector.[5]

I-90 heads southeast on the Connector, meeting the north end of the Taconic State Parkway in the Columbia County town of Chatham at exit B2 and NY 22 at exit B3 in the town of Canaan 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Massachusetts state line. The Berkshire Connector ends at the state line; however, I-90 continues southeast into Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Turnpike.[3]