Talk:County Route 17 (Suffolk County, New York)

What is an at-grade interchange?

This article says that the NY 111 / CR 17 junction was originally an at-grade interchange. What is an at-grade interchange? That to me sounds like a contradiction, since interchanges are grade seperated, not at-grade.

At-grade interchanges have connecting ramps without bridges. ----DanTD (talk) 13:10, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Do you have a picture or map or anything showing the former configuration of the intersection? Was it signalized or unsignalized? I assume that it always favored current CR 17, probably a throwback to when it used to be NY 111. Did you see the old configuration anywhere on the Internet, or is it just from your personal memory? Are there any nearby current intersections that are similar to the former configuration of the NY 111 / CR 17 intersection? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.187.247.122 (talk) 17:34, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid I don't have any old pics, but it wasn't signalized. No, I can't find it on the net, and I wish I could, along with the big overhead destinations signs mounted on the corner. You could try some libraries close to the area, or even contact NYSDOT. ----DanTD (talk) 19:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Why were NY 111 and CR 17 switched?

The article says "The NY 111 designation was moved from Carleton Avenue to Islip Avenue, which runs parallel to Carleton Avenue between NY 27A and I-495, on September 13, 1966 in order to facilitate access to the Heckscher State Parkway." Instead of switching the roads, why didn't they just build the interchange with Carlton Ave (then NY 111) rather than with Islip Ave (then CR 17)?

I'm sure part of it had to do with the proposal to extend Northern State Parkway into Heckscher State Parkway. The interchange was supposed to be just east of Carleton Avenue, where the Parkway turns from east to south. Will somebody bring SignBot here? ----DanTD (talk) 13:18, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

That makes sense; an interchange at Carlton Ave would have been too close to the proposed interchange with the Northern State Parkway. Since the Northen State was never extended, they were later able to build an interchange at Carlton Ave. So, the designations ended up being switched for nothing. I'm curious: was there ever any controversy over the routings being switched? Or did it happen quietly and few people noticed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.187.247.122 (talk) 17:37, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

You're asking the wrong guy. As I mentioned in the previous message, try some local libraries, or NYSDOT. ----DanTD (talk) 19:02, 4 December 2008 (UTC)