NY217 originally extended from Mellenville to NY22 in the town of Hillsdale when it was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. It was extended west to its present terminus in Claverack in the early 1930s. NY217 was truncated westward to Harlemville in the mid-1930s, then to the Taconic Parkway in 1980. The former routing of NY217 is now maintained by Columbia County as County Route21 (CR21) and County Route21C.
Route description
NY217 begins at an intersection with NY23 east of the hamlet of Claverack-Red Mills in the town of Claverack in central Columbia County. The route heads northeastward from the intersection, passing by the historic Stephen Storm House at the outskirts of the hamlet of Claverack-Red Mills and into a rural portion of the town. At an intersection with Roxbury Road, NY217 passes the Columbia Golf and Country Club to the west and begins to parallel Claverack Creek. NY217 intersects with CR18 (Fish and Game Road), then enters the populous hamlet of Mellenville.[3]
In the center of Mellenville, NY217 intersects with CR9 (Mellenville Road), with NY217 serving as CR9's southern terminus. NY217 then heads southeast, crossing Claverack Creek and passing Mellenville Union Cemetery to the north as well as the adjacent Claverack Town Park. The route turns eastward and meets the northern terminus of Roxbury Road as it enters the village of Philmont. Within Philmont, NY217 follows Main Street through the center of the densely populated village. At an intersection with Maple Street, the highway comes within view of Summit Lake, a small water body in the center of Philmont. Past the lake, NY217 turns northeast once more and intersects with CR11 (Martindale Road) as it leaves the village.[3]
East of the village of Philmont, NY217 continues into the town of Hillsdale, with the highway winding its way through a mixture of dense woods and open fields. Shortly after, the route turns eastward and the woods around the highway begin to cease. Here, NY217 ends at a parclo interchange with the Taconic State Parkway, and becomes CR 21C just east of here at an intersection with Harder Road.[3]
History
The north–south roadway connecting the hamlets of Claverack-Red Mills and Mellenville (both located within the town of Claverack) was originally designated as the southernmost part of NY66 in the mid-1920s.[4][5][6] A connector between NY66 in Mellenville and NY22 in North Hillsdale via Philmont was designated as NY217 as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.[2] NY66 was rerouted south of the hamlet of Ghent c.1933 to follow its modern alignment to the city of Hudson. NY217 was then extended southwestward along NY66's former alignment to NY23 east of Claverack.[7][8]
NY217 was truncated on its eastern end to Harlemville c.1935.[9][10] On April1, 1980, NY217 was truncated again, this time to its interchange with the Taconic State Parkway, as a result of a highway maintenance swap between the state of New York and Columbia County.[11] The former routing of NY217 from Harlemville to North Hillsdale is now CR21 while the portion from the Taconic Parkway to Harlemville is designated as CR21C.[12]
Major intersections
List also includes the old routing of NY 217 before it was truncated to the Taconic State Parkway. The entire route is in Columbia County.