New York State Route 85 (NY 85) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in
Albany County, New York
Albany County ( ) is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As ...
, in the United States. It is in length and runs from
CR 353 in
Rensselaerville to
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mou ...
(I-90) exit 4 in
Albany. It also has a
loop route,
NY 85A, which connects NY 85 to the village of
Voorheesville. The portion of NY 85 north of
NY 140 to the
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
–Albany town/city line is known as the Slingerlands Bypass. From there north to I-90, the road is a four-lane
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
named the Crosstown Arterial.
Route description

NY 85 begins at the north end of the
County Route 353 (CR 353; Delaware Turnpike) bridge over the Ten Mile Creek in the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of
Rensselaerville. In the center of the hamlet, NY 85 turns north at the intersection with
CR 351 (Medusa Road), NY 85 proceeds northward along Delaware Turnpike, a two-lane residential street through the town of Rensselaerville. The route soon becomes a woods road, turning east and passing the southern terminus of
CR 6. NY 85 bends northeast through Rensselaerville, crossing through valleys until Stevens Road, where it bends southeast and soon east into the town of
Westerlo
Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns:
* Westerlo centrum
*
* Tongerlo
* Heultje
* Voortkapel
* Oosterwijk
*
In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...
. Still known as Delaware Turnpike, NY 85 continues east through the valleys past a junction with
CR 408.
East of CR 408, NY 85 winds south of Onderdonk Lake, soon crossing a junction with
CR 1 (Switzkill Road). Bending northward through Westerlo, NY 85 remains a two-lane rural road, soon reaching a junction with the western terminus of
NY 143. NY 85 continues northeast from NY 143, becoming more residential as it approaches a junction with
CR 14 (Joslyn School Road). Crossing into the town of
Berne
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...
, NY 85 meets a junction with
CR 11 (Cass Hill Road) west of the hamlet of Reidsville. The route then bends northward at this junction, bypassing the hamlet and soon reaching the northern terminus of CR 11 (North Road) nearby.
After CR 11, NY 85 continues northward through Berne, bending northeast into a junction with
NY 443 (Helderberg Trail). NY 443 and NY 85 become concurrent, proceeding eastward and south of Helderberg Lake as Delaware Turnpike. NY 85 and NY 443 continue winding eastward, crossing into the town of
New Scotland, crossing through the Letter-S, a hill named for a former S-bend alignment of NY 85 that is preserved in two town roads of similar names. Climbing down the hill, the routes bend southward, reaching a junction with New Scotland Road. At this junction, NY 443 continues southeast on Delaware Turnpike while NY 85 turns east on New Scotland. Still a two-lane road through New Scotland, NY 85 passes multiple residences before making a large curve to the north.

The route bends northeast and enters the area of New Salem Hill, where it intersects with the eastern terminus of
NY 157 (Thacher Park Road). Continuing north, NY 85 soon bends southeast and enters the hamlet of
New Salem, where it intersects with the western terminus of
NY 85A (New Salem Road). Through New Salem, NY 85 is a two-lane residential street, soon leaving the hamlet after Mountain View Estates Road. Running northeast through New Scotland, NY 85 remains a two-lane residential street, crossing under CSX railroad tracks before reaching the hamlet of New Scotland. The route runs northeast through the hamlet, becoming a two-lane residential/commercial street and intersects with
CR 308 (New Scotland South Road).
NY 85 quickly crosses the eastern terminus of NY 85A (Maple Road), bending southeast through New Scotland. Leaving the namesake hamlet, NY 85 continues southeast until reaching the town of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
. Through Bethlehem, NY 85 reaches the hamlet of
Slingerlands, becoming a two-lane residential street and crossing the eastern terminus of
CR 306 (Font Grove Road). Passing a junction with Kenwood Avenue, NY 85 crosses through the commercial center of Slingerlands, soon turning northeast into another residential portion of Slingerlands. Near the northern end of the hamlet, the route enters a
roundabout
A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
with
NY 140 (Cherry Avenue Extension) and New Scotland Road (former NY 910E).
NY 85 turns northwest at the roundabout, bending into another one with Vista Boulevard. Continuing northeast, NY 85 reaches a third roundabout with Maher Road (former NY 915L), which connects to New Scotland Road and the hamlet of Karlsfeld. After crossing another roundabout, this time with Blessing Road, NY 85 becomes a
two-lane freeway and crosses through the Normanskill section of Bethlehem, crossing over the
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
(
I-87). Just after the overpass, NY 85 widens from a two-lane freeway to a four-lane
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, crossing into the city of
Albany and passing a ramp for Krumkill Road. Crossing over Buckingham Road, NY 85 interchanges with the local street, soon reaching an interchange with Cortland Street, which connects to
US 20 (Western Avenue).
Almost immediately after US 20, NY 85 continues past another interchange, serving Washington Avenue and the
W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus. Just north of this interchange, Route 85 ends at
trumpet interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...
with
I-90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
.
History
Origins

The path of modern NY 85 west of
Slingerlands roughly follows that of the Albany, Rensselaerville, and Schoharie Plank Road, a
plank road
A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...
established to connect the city of
Albany with the
town of Schoharie by way of passing through
Rensselaerville. The Albany, Schoharie, and Rensselaerville Plank Road Company was organized on October 10, 1849, with Lansing Pruyn as president. On March 25, 1850, the company was given a 30-year charter; and the road from Lydius Street in Albany (today
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
) to the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of
New Salem—now
New Scotland Avenue in the city of Albany and New Scotland Road in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
and
New Scotland—and the portion of the road from Bernville to
Gallupville were planked with wooden boards.
[ Portions of the plank road were already long established roads, such as the Beaverdam (or Beaver Dam) Road in western Albany County near New Salem, which had already existed for quite some time prior to moving to an easier grade around New Salem in 1806.] The plank road/turnpike spurred the development of many places along its path, such as a hotel at what would evolve into the hamlet of Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD and is part of the St George, New South Wales, St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of ...
and a post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
at what would become the hamlet of Slingerlands.
In 1854 the state authorized the fiscally unsound plank road company to abandon or sell portions of the road and to turn other sections into a turnpike and charge tolls. The section from New Salem east to the hamlet of New Scotland subsequently had its planks removed and the portion from Bernville to Gallupville was also abandoned.[ In 1881 the charter was renewed for another 30 years.] In 1896 the turnpike company opposed the construction of a railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
that would have been in direct competition to the turnpike from Albany to Schoharie.
Designation
In 1908, the New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
created Route 7, an unsigned legislative route
In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise d ...
extending from Binghamton
Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the con ...
to Albany via Oneonta and Schoharie. Route 7 entered the town of New Scotland on what is now NY 157 and followed it to its eastern end at modern NY 85. At this point, the route turned onto the old Albany–Schoharie plank road and continued east to Albany on New Scotland Road and New Scotland Avenue. The section of legislative Route 7 east of modern NY 157 was not assigned a posted designation until the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York when it became part of NY 85, which initially extended from NY 81 in the hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Oak Hill in the town of Durham to US 20 in Albany.[''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]
When it was first assigned, the route followed Makley and Siebert Roads north from Oak Hill to Medusa, then continued northeast to Westerlo on CR 351, CR 402, CR 404, and CR 401. Past Westerlo, NY 85 was routed on what is now NY 143 to the Delaware Turnpike near Reidsville, where it joined its current alignment. Northeast of Slingerlands, NY 85 followed New Scotland Avenue into downtown Albany, where it terminated at US 20. The portion of the route between Medusa and Reidsville was realigned to serve the hamlet of Rensselaerville. Instead of heading east from Medusa, NY 85 was rerouted to follow CR 352, CR 360, CR 359, and CR 353 north to Rensselaerville, where it met its modern routing. NY 85 was truncated to Rensselaerville .
Construction on the Slingerlands Bypass, a new highway bypassing the hamlet of Slingerlands, began in the early 1960s. The first section of the bypass from Washington Avenue to Buckingham Drive (the Krumkill Road exit) was completed by 1964. The remainder of the highway was open by 1968 as a realignment of NY 85. Between Blessing Road and the Albany city line, the bypass was constructed as a two-lane highway. This section was originally planned to be four lanes wide as well, but was constructed with only two lanes due to community activism by an anti-sprawl group known as the Bethlehem Lincoln Republicans in the early 1960s. The old alignment of NY 85 along New Scotland Road from where NY 85 turns onto the bypass to the Albany city line (a distance of as of 2008) was designated as NY 910E, an unsigned reference route.
A four-lane extension of the bypass was constructed in 2007 between NY 140 and Maher Road. Four roundabouts
A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
were built, the southernmost where NY 85 currently meets NY 140 at Cherry Avenue Extension. After the roadway opened to traffic on November 7, 2007, NY 85 was rerouted onto the newly constructed portion of the bypass while the section of New Scotland Road between NY 140 and Maher Road became part of an extended NY 910E. The new highway, four lanes divided, meets the existing highway portion of the bypass at the same Maher Road (NY 915L), at the third roundabout. Between 2017 and 2018, NY 910E and NY 915L were decommissioned.
NY 85 was once proposed to be extended to the unbuilt I-687.
Major intersections
Suffixed Route
NY 85A () is an alternate route of NY 85 in New Scotland, accessing Voorheesville. It was assigned .
;Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
Capital Highways – New York 85
{{DEFAULTSORT:New York State Route 085
085
Transportation in Albany County, New York
Limited-access roads in New York (state)