1930 state highway renumbering (New York) facts for kids

Imagine a huge puzzle where all the roads in a state get new names and numbers! That's kind of what happened in New York State in January 1930. They decided to give new numbers to many of their state highways. Some roads that already had numbers got new ones, and some roads that didn't have numbers before got them for the first time.

Before 1930, New York had a simpler system. Only a few state highways had numbers, from 1 to 80. Roads going mostly north and south had even numbers, and roads going east and west had odd numbers. But this system changed when the U.S. Highway System started in 1927. Some roads were renumbered in 1927 to make sure their numbers didn't overlap with the new U.S. Highway numbers.

Why Did New York Renumber Its Roads?

The main reason for the big change in 1930 was to make the road system better organized. As more cars were on the road and more highways were built, the old system wasn't working well. The state needed a clearer way to identify and manage its growing network of roads.

This renumbering was a huge project. It helped create a more logical system for travelers and made it easier for people to find their way around the state. Many of the highways that got numbers between 100 and 300 were assigned during this time. The numbers were often given in groups based on where the roads were located. Even though some of these numbers have changed again over the years, this 1930 renumbering was a very important step in how New York's roads are organized today.

What Changed for Old Roads?

Before the 1930 renumbering, there were many state routes already in use. When the big change happened, some of these old routes kept their numbers, like US 1 and New York State Route 5. But many others were completely changed.

For example, an old road called Route 8, which went from the New Jersey state line to Newburgh, was split up and given new numbers like 284 and 215. Another road, old Route 10, which went from Schenectady to Plattsburgh, was completely reassigned to a different path from Deposit to the Quebec border.

Some roads were extended, meaning they became longer. For instance, old Route 7, from Binghamton to the Vermont state line, was extended south into Pennsylvania. Other roads were shortened, or "truncated," like old Route 46, which used to go from Oriskany Falls to Boonville but was shortened to end at Rome.

This renumbering was a bit like giving a fresh start to the state's road map, making it more efficient for everyone.

New Roads and New Numbers After 1930

After the 1930 renumbering, New York had a brand new set of numbered routes. Many of these were completely new roads that hadn't been numbered before. For example, Route 2A from Springwater to Rochester was a new route.

Some of the new numbers were given to parts of old roads combined with new, previously unnumbered sections. For instance, Route 3 from Niagara Falls to Plattsburgh was a mix of old Route 3, parts of US 11, and brand new sections of road that had never been numbered before.

This big renumbering helped create the road system that New York uses even today, with many of the routes still following similar paths or using the same numbers that were assigned back in 1930. It was a major effort to modernize and improve how people traveled across the state.