Editing Interstate 690

{{short description|Highway in New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox road
| state = NY
| type = I
| route = 690
| map = {{maplink-road}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = Map of Syracuse, New York, with I-690 highlighted in red
| established = early 1960s<ref name="1961map" /><ref name="1962map" />
| length_mi = 14.19
| length_ref = <ref name="2008tvr" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Starks |first=Edward |date=January 27, 2022 |title=Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |access-date=December 7, 2022 |work=FHWA Route Log and Finder List |publisher=[[Federal Highway Administration]]}}</ref>
| spur_type = I
| spur_of = 90
| direction_a = West
| terminus_a = {{jct|state=NY|I-Toll|90|NYST||NY|690}} in [[Van Buren, New York|Van Buren]]
| junction = {{jct|state=NY|NY|695}} in [[Geddes, New York|Geddes]]<br/>{{jct|state=NY|NY|298}} in [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]]<br/>{{jct|state=NY|I|81|US|11|NY|5}} in Syracuse
| direction_b = East
| terminus_b = {{Jct|state=NY|I|481}} in [[DeWitt, New York|DeWitt]]
| counties = [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga]]
| previous_type = I
| previous_route = 687
| next_type = NY
| next_route = 690
}}

'''Interstate&nbsp;690''' ('''I-690''') is an [[auxiliary Interstate Highway]] that extends for {{convert|14.19|mi|km}} through the vicinity of [[Syracuse, New York]], in the United States. It is a spur of [[Interstate 90 in New York|I-90]] (here part of the [[New York State Thruway]]) that travels southeast from Thruway exit&nbsp;39 in [[Van Buren, New York|Van Buren]] to [[Interstate 481|I-481]] in [[DeWitt, New York|DeWitt]]. In between, I-690 passes through the western suburbs of Syracuse before heading east through the city itself, where it meets [[Interstate 81 in New York|I-81]] in [[Downtown Syracuse]]. The freeway continues northwest of the thruway as [[New York State Route 690]] (NY&nbsp;690).

==Route description==
I-690 begins at a double [[trumpet interchange]] with the [[New York State Thruway]] ([[Interstate 90 in New York|I-90]]) in the town of [[Van Buren, New York|Van Buren]]. The six-lane, fully-shouldered [[limited-access highway]] continues north toward [[Baldwinsville, New York|Baldwinsville]] as [[New York State Route 690|NY&nbsp;690]] while I-690 travels east from the junction. Even though I-690 continues north of the thruway as NY&nbsp;690, the numbering system on I-690 does not continue with the route. The interchange with the thruway is labeled as exit&nbsp;1A, leaving exits on NY&nbsp;690 without numbers. Additionally, NY&nbsp;690 is signed north–south while I-690 is signed east–west. Before physically crossing I-90, it features a partial interchange with [[John Glenn Boulevard]] and turns southeast.

[[File:Syracuse Interstates.jpg|thumb|left|I-81 at I-690 in Downtown Syracuse]]
After crossing and connecting with State Fair Boulevard at exit&nbsp;2, I-690 runs along the western shore of [[Onondaga Lake]], passing under many pedestrian bridges. The highway serves the [[New York State Fair]]grounds by way of exits&nbsp;4 and 5, the former a large [[directional T interchange]] with [[New York State Route 695|NY&nbsp;695]]. Within this interchange was a signalized, [[at-grade intersection]] that connected I-690 to a parking area. For 12&nbsp;days each year, the light was used to allow buses to carry New York State Fair attendees from the parking area across the road to the fair. I-690 was one of only a few Interstate Highways to feature a traffic light. Construction began in 2019 and finished in 2020 of a bridge overpass to this parking area, eliminating the need for a traffic signal.

The freeway continues along the shore and bears toward the downtown area, where the shoulders frequently disappear and the buildings are often situated close to the freeway. It passes over a railroad grade and Hiawatha Boulevard before meeting [[New York State Route 298|NY&nbsp;298]] (Bear Street) at exit&nbsp;7. In the interchange with [[New York State Route 5|NY&nbsp;5]] {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} to the east, two lanes of I-690 disappear, and [[Interstate 81 in New York|I-81]] follows directly after in the center of the city with an incomplete interchange. There is no direct freeway ramp from I-690 east to I-81 north and I-81 south to I-690 west. NY&nbsp;298, which connects to I-81 at exit&nbsp;5A west of the I-81/I-690 interchange, must be used to make these connections.

I-690 rewidens to six lanes as it proceeds eastward out of Downtown Syracuse. {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=In}} from downtown, it connects to Burnet and Midler avenues by way of exit&nbsp;11. The latter is designated as [[New York State Route 598|NY&nbsp;598]]; however, it is not signed as such from I-690. After a curve to the southeast, [[New York State Route 635|NY&nbsp;635]] meets the route at a [[cloverleaf interchange]], utilizing [[collector–distributor road]]s to do so. The collector–distributor roads continue to a [[partial cloverleaf interchange]] (parclo) with Bridge Street, where they end. Shortly after this interchange, I-690 terminates at [[Interstate 481|I-481]].

==History==
The portion of the modern I-690 corridor west of [[Downtown Syracuse]] was originally served by [[New York State Route 48|NY&nbsp;48]], a route assigned as part of the [[1930 state highway renumbering (New York)|1930 renumbering of state highways in New York]].<ref>''Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book'', 1930–31 and 1931–32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930–31 edition shows New York state routes prior to the [[1930 renumbering (New York)|1930 renumbering]]</ref> NY&nbsp;48 followed the length of State Fair Boulevard from [[Van Buren, New York|Van Buren]] to Downtown Syracuse, where it followed several local streets to reach [[New York State Route 5|NY&nbsp;5]].<ref>{{cite map |title=Texaco Road Map – New York |publisher=[[Texas Oil Company]] |year=1932 |cartography=[[Rand McNally and Company]]}}</ref> In the early 1960s, work began on a new freeway extending from the [[New York State Thruway]] to Syracuse by way of the western shoreline of [[Onondaga Lake]]. The new road, designated as I-690, was completed from the thruway to [[New York State Route 298|NY&nbsp;298]] by 1962. I-690 supplanted State Fair Boulevard as the primary highway through the area, and, from [[New York State Route 297|NY&nbsp;297]] southeast, State Fair Boulevard was upgraded on the spot. As a result, NY&nbsp;48 was truncated to its current southern terminus in Van Buren.<ref name="1961map">{{cite map |title=New York and Metropolitan New York |publisher=[[Sunoco]] |cartography=[[H.M. Gousha Company]] |year=1961 |edition=1961–62}}</ref><ref name="1962map">{{cite map |title=New York with Sight-Seeing Guide |publisher=[[Esso]] |cartography=[[General Drafting]] |year=1962 |edition=1962}}</ref>

The section of I-690 near the [[New York State Fair]]grounds was originally a surface highway. When I-690 was extended eastward through downtown to Midler Avenue (now [[New York State Route 598|NY&nbsp;598]]) in the mid-1960s,<ref>{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=[[Mobil]] |cartography=Rand McNally and Company |year=1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=Esso |year=1968 |edition=1969–70 |cartography=General Drafting}}</ref> I-690 was moved onto its current, limited-access routing. State Fair Boulevard runs on the former I-690 eastbound [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]], while a service road occupies the westbound right of way. State Fair Boulevard continues east along this right-of-way onto a ramp to I-690. The section of I-690 between Midler Avenue and [[Interstate 481|I-481]] was completed in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite map |title=New York State Highways |publisher=[[State of New York Department of Commerce]] |year=1969 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=[[Shell Oil Company]] |cartography=H.M. Gousha Company |year=1973 |edition=1973}}</ref> I-690 gained {{One2a|{{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}}}} when its western terminus was relocated in 1987. The interchange with the thruway was relocated and completely rebuilt, forcing a complete renumbering of all the exits on the highway.

I-690 follows the former [[New York Central Railroad]] (NYC) roadbed through a portion of Downtown Syracuse and actually cuts through the site of the former [[Syracuse station (New York Central Railroad)|Syracuse station]]. A remnant of the former railroad station platforms is visible to the north of the freeway, with plaster statues of people waiting for trains, who are occasionally dressed up for winter by area residents with scarves and other winter apparel. [[Time Warner Cable]], which restored the building as the base of its [[Central New York]] operations and [[Spectrum News 1 Central New York]], also has a rail-focussed mural along the back of that building fronting I-690.<ref>{{cite web|last=Case|first=Dick|title=Mystery Santa's helper each year puts the red scarves on statues along I-690|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/mystery_santas_helper_each_yea.html|work=The Post Standard|date=20 December 2009 |access-date=2 May 2014}}</ref>

In mid-2009, the [[New York State Department of Transportation]] posted new milemarkers on both [[New York State Route 690|NY&nbsp;690]] and I-690. The mileposts treat the entire length of both routes as a single entity, with mile&nbsp;0 being at the northern terminus of NY&nbsp;690 at NY&nbsp;48 and mile&nbsp;20 being near the eastern terminus of I-690 at I-481.

There have been plans for decades to extend I-690 eastward from [[Interstate 481|I-481]] to [[Manlius, New York|Manlius]] or to the far east suburb of [[Chittenango, New York|Chittenango]]; however, these plans have yet to become a reality. <ref name="syr_hist">{{cite web|url=http://www.gribblenation.net/nypics/planned/syracuse/syrhist.html|title=Syracuse Highways: A Brief Historical Overview|access-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref> Several [[unused highway|unused ramps]] exist at the interchange between I-481 and I-690, intended to connect to an extended I-690.<ref name="google">{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=&geocode=&hl=en&mra=mr&sll=43.06083,-76.074142&sspn=0.011507,0.027831&ie=UTF8&ll=43.056707,-76.05144&spn=0.011508,0.027831&t=h&z=16 |title=aerial view of I-481/I-690 interchange |access-date=July 14, 2010}}</ref>

==Future==
As part of the community grid solution for I-81 in Downtown Syracuse, a {{Convert|1.5|mi|km|adj=on}} section of I-690 around the intersection with I-81 will be rebuilt. Bridges along this section will be replaced, and the rebuilt highway will feature wider lanes and bigger shoulders, and realign to southerly (further south of the former New York Central Railroad station track area). The state is also proposing the elimination of exit&nbsp;13 (Townsend Street, exit soon to be unnumbered), the restructuring of exits&nbsp;11 (West Street, soon to be exit 8A) and 12 (West Genesee Street, exit soon to be unnumbered), and the addition of an exit at Crouse Avenue and Irving Avenue to provide better access to [[Syracuse University]]. Construction along I-690 is part of Phase Two of the community grid project, which would take approximately three years. The entire project is expected to start mid-2020 and take five years. Also, the existing exit numbers along I-690 will be renumbered to reflect the [[Mile-based exit numbering|mile-based exit numbers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/06/i-81-project-includes-full-rebuild-of-15-miles-of-i-690-in-syracuse.html|title=I-81 project includes full rebuild of 1.5 miles of I-690 in Syracuse|last=Weaver|first=Teri|date=2019-06-12|website=syracuse|language=en|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/04/i-81-timeline-community-grid-will-take-5-years-of-construction-ny-says.html|title=I-81 timeline: Community grid will take 5 years of construction, NY says|last=McMahon|first=Julie|date=2019-04-22|website=syracuse|language=en|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cnycentral.com/news/local/i-81-timeline-what-happens-next|title=I-81 Timeline: What happens next?|last=CNYCentral|date=2019-04-23|website=WSTM|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref>{{Update after|2020}}

==Exit list==
''In 2025, NYSDOT is renumbering the exit numbers along I-690.''
{{NYinttop|old|length_ref=<ref name="2008tvr">{{cite web|url=https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Volume%20Report%202008.pdf |title=2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State |date=June 16, 2009 |page=243 |publisher=[[New York State Department of Transportation]] |access-date=February 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927024222/https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Volume%20Report%202008.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2012 }}</ref>|county=Onondaga}}
{{NYint|old
|location=Van Buren
|lspan=4
|mile=0.00
|mspan=2
|old=–
|exit=–
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|690|dir1=north|city1=Baldwinsville}}
|notes=Continuation north
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=none
|old=1
|exit=6
|type=etc
|road={{jct|state=NY|I-Toll|90|NYST|city1=Albany|city2=Buffalo}}
|notes=Exit 39 on I-90 / Thruway
}}
{{NYint|old
|old=2
|exit=7A
|road=Jones Road
|mile=0.31
|notes=Signed as exit 7 eastbound}}
{{NYint|old
|old=3
|exit=7B
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|48|dir1=north|name1=Farrell Road}}
|notes=Westbound exit and entrance; southern terminus of NY&nbsp;48
|type=incomplete
|mile=0.89}}
{{NYint|old
|location=Geddes
|lspan=4
|old=4
|exit=8
|road={{jct|state=NY|to2=yes|city1=Liverpool|road|[[John Glenn Boulevard]] east|NY|370}}
|notes=Western terminus of John Glenn Boulevard
|mile=1.11}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=2.05
|old=5
|exit=9
|road={{jctname|state=NY|CR|80|dir1=east|nolink=yes|noshield=yes|name1=State Fair Boulevard}} /  Van Vleck Road&nbsp;– [[Lakeland, New York|Lakeland]]
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=4.55
|old=6
|exit=10-12A
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|695|dir1=south|NY|5|to2=yes|city1=Auburn|city2=Lakeland}}
|notes=Northern terminus of NY&nbsp;695
}}
{{NYint|old
|old=7
|exit=11-12B
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|297|dir1=south|city1=Solvay|location2=[[New York State Fairgrounds|Fairgrounds]]}}
|notes=Northern terminus of NY&nbsp;297
|mile=5.28}}
{{NYint|old
|location=Syracuse
|lspan=9
|mile=7.14
|old=8
|exit=13
|road=Hiawatha Boulevard &ndash; [[Destiny USA]]
|notes=Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
|type=incomplete
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=7.43
|old=9<hr>10
|ospan=2
|exit=14
|espan=2
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|298|dir1=north|I|81|name1=Bear Street|to2=yes|dir2=north|city1=Watertown}}
|notes=Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; southern terminus of NY&nbsp;298
|type=incomplete
}}
{{NYint
|mile=7.75
|road=North Geddes Street
|notes=Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
|type=incomplete
}}
{{NYint|old
|old=11
|exit=15A
|road=West Street
|mile=8.22
|notes=Signed as exit 15 eastbound}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=8.39
|old=12
|exit=_
|road=West Genesee Street ([[New York State Route 5|NY&nbsp;5]])&nbsp;- [[Syracuse, New York|Downtown Syracuse]]
|notes=Eastbound exit and entrance
|type=incomplete
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=9.00
|old=–
|exit=15B
|type=incomplete
|road={{jct|state=NY|I|81|city1=Binghamton|city2=Watertown}}
|notes=No eastbound access to I-81 north
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=9.29
|old=13
|exit=_
|type=incomplete
|road=Townsend Street – [[Syracuse, New York|Downtown Syracuse]], [[Syracuse University]]
|notes=Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=10.32
|old=14
|exit=17
|road=Teall Avenue
}}
{{NYint|old
|mile=11.28
|old=15
|exit=18
|road=Midler Avenue ([[New York State Route 598|NY&nbsp;598]])
}}
{{NYint|old
|location1=Syracuse
|location2=East&nbsp;Syracuse
|mile=12.34
|old=16
|exit=19
|road={{jct|state=NY|NY|635|name1=Thompson Road}}
|notes=Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north)
}}
{{NYint|old
|location=East Syracuse
|mile=13.19
|old=17
|exit=19C
|road=Bridge Street&nbsp;– [[East Syracuse, New York|East Syracuse]]
}}
{{NYint|old
|location=DeWitt
|mile=14.19
|old=–
|exit=_
|road={{jct|state=NY|I|481|I-Toll|90|NYST||to2=yes|city1=DeWitt}}
|notes=Eastern terminus; exit 88 on I-481
}}

{{jctbtm|old|keys=etc,incomplete}}

==See also==
{{Portal|U.S. roads}}
*[[New York State Route&nbsp;690]] for exits along NY&nbsp;690

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Attached KML}}
{{NYSR external links|type=I|nyroutes=yes|route=690|alps=yes|unyrds=yes}}

{{3di|90}}
{{Syracuse, New York}}

[[Category:Auxiliary Interstate Highways|90-6]]
[[Category:Interstate Highways in New York (state)|90-6]]
[[Category:Interstate 90|6]]
[[Category:Transportation in Onondaga County, New York]]
[[Category:Transportation in Syracuse, New York]]
[[Category:Central New York]]
[[Category:DeWitt, New York]]
[[Category:Onondaga Lake]]