This legend was used inside {{routeboxny}}, NYSR's first infobox that was used until mid-2006. Unlike {{infobox road}}, routeboxny stored a route's entire junction list within the infobox, hence the use of colors to keep things less cluttered. After the junction lists were moved to the article itself, there was no longer a need to extensively use colors since there was no longer a space limit for each junction list entry. See WP:NYSR#Major intersections for which colors are currently being used in articles and how they are used.

  county name
  normal junction; bold route indicates termini.
  begin/end concurrency; bold route is carried through
  crossing with no access
  deleted (no longer in system)
  unconstructed
  closed