Current and historic US Highway ends in Rouses Point and Champlain, NY |
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When the US routes were first commissioned, three of them ended in Rouses Point: US 9, US 11, and the eastern segment of US 2. Here is a scan of the 1943 USGS map:
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c. 1943, USGS
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USGS maps have never been completely reliable with regard to highway designations, but it is a safe bet that this one was correct where it shows US 9 going to the Canada border. The question is, where did US 2 and US 11 end? US 11 is the road coming in from Champlain along the bottom left, on aptly-named Champlain Street. Did it really end at its junction with US 9? Probably not. But if so, here is a photo of modern signage at that intersection:
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Field/Nitzman, July 2000
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That is on northbound Lake Street (old US 9) at Champlain St. Today northbound US 11 goes straight ahead, but it is possible that this was its north beginning at one time. However, it is just as likely that US 11 was co-signed with US 9 north from here to the border. About a mile to the north we come to the Bridge Road intersection, which is shown in this next photo:
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Field/Nitzman, July 2000
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That was looking north on Lake, this segment of which is US 11/historic US 9. Today US 2 begins to the right. However, it is likely that US 2 was originally co-signed north with US 9 (and probably US 11 too) to the border: this would have been the practical way to mark the road, especially for travelers coming from Canada. In the distance ahead was a US 11 reassurance marker, shown close-up here...
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Field/Nitzman, July 2000
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...although the US 11 signs shown in both of those last two photos have been gone since at least 2005 (perhaps to cut down on non-border traffic). The customs house is just visible at far left. US 11 continues ahead about a half-mile to the Canada border; it has probably always been that way, despite what is shown on these maps. Here is a photo from there:
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Eisenstein, Apr. 2002
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The Canada line is right about where the railroad crosses in the distance. That is also the historic north end of US 9, and probably the historic end of US 2 as well. Now: the US 2 signs in the photos above mark the west beginning of that route. On the map above, US 2 is shown coming in from Vermont on Bridge Road, and possibly ending here at Lake St, just as it does today. Here is a photo of modern signage approaching that intersection:
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Field/Nitzman, July 2000
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That was looking west on Bridge, approaching Lake St. Today the west end of the eastern segment of US 2 is just ahead, at its junction with US 11 (historic US 9) at Lake. It may have been that way in the past too, but it is just as likely that US 2 used to continue north from here with US 9 and US 11. Today however, it is only US 11 that goes all the way to the border. Below is the first marker heading south from Canada:
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Mortell, 1996
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Here is the signage at the upcoming intersection:
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Mortell, 1996
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Today the west beginning of US 2 is to the left. It was probably shortly after the map above was published that US 9 was rerouted north of Chazy NY. Now - instead of going northeast through Coopersville to Rouses Point (via today's NY 9B) - it goes more northerly through Champlain, ending at the border crossing north of town. This change was likely made in response to the rerouting of Quebec hwy. 9 to the west. Here is the 1956 USGS map:
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c. 1956, USGS
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The solid red line running east-west is US 11. The shot below was taken heading north out of Champlain, just shy of the Canada border:
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Field/Nitzman, July 2000
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The customs house is visible in the distance; to get there, one must enter I-87 (ahead to the left). I-87 bisects the original alignment of US 9, and this "End" sign happens to be right about where the original highway went slightly to the left, rather than along this newer frontage road, which dead-ends shy of the border. In fact, as of 2006, there was still a US 9 sign posted even farther to the north, but facing south on the west-side frontage road. Presumably that was a remnant from the pre-interstate era. This next shot was taken heading the same direction (northbound), but on I-87:
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Nitzman, July 2005
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Drivers exiting there encounter this sign on the offramp:
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Nitzman, July 2005
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For drivers heading north on I-87, that is the north beginning of US 9; to the left leads only to a cul-de-sac adjacent to the customs house. Here is the first southbound sign...
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Nitzman, July 2005
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In the background of that photo is the first exit sign for southbound I-87 coming from Canada; it is shown close-up here:
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Nitzman, July 2005
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Drivers exiting there are directed south on a service road, which soon passes underneath I-87 and connects to US 9, just south of the "End" sign shown previously.
After US 9 was redirected to go through Champlain, its old route through Coopersville and Rouses Point became NY hwy. 9B, which shows up on this map: |
c. 1956, USGS
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What that shows is kind of odd: did US 11 really end on Champlain at NY 9B (Lake) back then? Or did it continue north to the border, as it does today? Or, a third possibility is shown on this 1959 Gousha map:
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c. 1959, Gousha
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In that map series, the legend clearly differentiates US routes as red lines with blue casing, while state routes are red or blue lines with no casing. So that suggests US 2 and US 11 ended at their common junction, while it was only 9B that actually served the border crossing.
Research and/or photo credits: Hank Eisenstein; Andy Field; Dan Moraseski; Alex Nitzman; Chris Jordan; Robert Mortell; Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 2003;
last updated Mar. 17, 2016.
last updated Mar. 17, 2016.
