New York State Route 270
Encyclopedia
New York State Route 270 (NY 270) is a north–south state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...

 in the United States. It runs through rural and wooded areas of the town of Amherst
Amherst, New York
Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...

 in Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...

 and the town of Pendleton
Pendleton, New York
Pendleton is a town on the southern edge of Niagara County, New York, United States. It is east of the city of Niagara Falls and southwest of the city of Lockport. The population was 6,397 at the 2010 census.- History :...

 in Niagara County
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...

. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 263
New York State Route 263
New York State Route 263 is a state highway located entirely within the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It extends from just north of the northeast corner of the city of Buffalo in a roughly northeast direction almost straight to just south of the north county...

 south of the hamlet of Getzville
Getzville, New York
Getzville, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, USA.Getzville's zip code is 14068, and has a post office located on Millersport Highway -Geography :...

. Its northern terminus is at a junction with NY 31
New York State Route 31
New York State Route 31 is a state highway that extends for across western and central New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 104 in the city of Niagara Falls. Its eastern terminus is at a traffic circle with NY 26 in Vernon...

 and NY 93
New York State Route 93
New York State Route 93 is a state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs in a northwest–southeast direction between NY 18F near the Niagara River in the village of Youngstown and NY 5 just south of the village of Akron...

 west of the city of Lockport
Lockport (city), New York
Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

. The entirety of NY 270 is known as Campbell Boulevard.

NY 270 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. The route once extended as far south as NY 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...

 and as far north as NY 104
New York State Route 104
New York State Route 104 is a long east–west state highway in Upstate New York, United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it follows a routing largely parallel to that of the southern shoreline of Lake...

; however, it was gradually truncated to its current length as other routes were realigned or extended onto NY 270's alignment.

Route description

Route 270's southern terminus is just north of SUNY Buffalo's north campus, at an intersection with Millersport Highway (NY 263
New York State Route 263
New York State Route 263 is a state highway located entirely within the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It extends from just north of the northeast corner of the city of Buffalo in a roughly northeast direction almost straight to just south of the north county...

) with some office parks and gas stations that marks the center of Getzville, a hamlet within the town of Amherst
Amherst, New York
Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...

. It runs due north, underneath Interstate 990 without an exit, into the still-wooded areas of what is known as North Amherst, and then crosses the Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...

 and the county line.

In Niagara County it runs past typically deforested fields and some houses, again continuing mostly straight due north, to an intersection with NY 31
New York State Route 31
New York State Route 31 is a state highway that extends for across western and central New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 104 in the city of Niagara Falls. Its eastern terminus is at a traffic circle with NY 26 in Vernon...

 and NY 93
New York State Route 93
New York State Route 93 is a state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs in a northwest–southeast direction between NY 18F near the Niagara River in the village of Youngstown and NY 5 just south of the village of Akron...

.

Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...

, the executed Oklahoma City bomber
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...

, grew up in a house along Campbell Boulevard in the town of Pendleton
Pendleton, New York
Pendleton is a town on the southern edge of Niagara County, New York, United States. It is east of the city of Niagara Falls and southwest of the city of Lockport. The population was 6,397 at the 2010 census.- History :...

.

Designation

When NY 270 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, it began at Main Street (NY 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...

) in the hamlet of Eggertsville
Eggertsville, New York
Eggertsville, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, USA.-References:...

 and followed Eggert Road north to Millersport Highway. Here, it turned to the northeast, utilizing what is now NY 263
New York State Route 263
New York State Route 263 is a state highway located entirely within the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It extends from just north of the northeast corner of the city of Buffalo in a roughly northeast direction almost straight to just south of the north county...

 to the modern campus of SUNY Buffalo. While today's Millersport Highway veers east to bypass the college, the highway originally went straight through the grounds, partially by way of what is now St. Rita's Lane. North of Ellicott Creek
Ellicott Creek
Ellicott Creek is a stream in Western New York, United States. It is a tributary of Tonawanda Creek, which in turn into the Niagara River.-Course:...

, NY 270 proceeded to Getzville
Getzville, New York
Getzville, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, USA.Getzville's zip code is 14068, and has a post office located on Millersport Highway -Geography :...

 via North Forest and Stahl Roads. At Getzville, NY 270 joined its modern alignment and followed it to Saunders Settlement Road (now NY 31
New York State Route 31
New York State Route 31 is a state highway that extends for across western and central New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 104 in the city of Niagara Falls. Its eastern terminus is at a traffic circle with NY 26 in Vernon...

), where it turned northeast onto Saunders Settlement Road for a short distance to Upper Mountain Road, where it ended at NY 3
New York State Route 3
New York State Route 3 is a major east–west state highway in New York, United States, that connects central New York to the North Country region near the Canadian border via Adirondack Park. The route extends for between its western terminus at an intersection with NY 104A in the Cayuga...

 outside of Lockport
Lockport (city), New York
Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

.

Both extents of NY 270 were realigned slightly by 1932. In the vicinity of Eggertsville, the route was reconfigured to follow Bailey Avenue and Grover Cleveland Highway between Main Street and Eggert Road. Near Lockport, NY 270 was shifted southward onto Hinman Road and Ohio Street. The latter change was made as part of a larger realignment of NY 3 through central Niagara County
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...

. The realignment of NY 270 near Lockport was short-lived as the route was moved back onto Campbell Boulevard ca. 1935; however, it was also truncated to end at the junction of Campbell Boulevard and Saunders Settlement Road. NY 270 was truncated again in the mid-1930s after U.S. Route 62 (US 62) and NY 18
New York State Route 18
New York State Route 18 is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the south shore of Lake Ontario for most of its length between Niagara County and Monroe County...

 were realigned to follow Bailey Avenue between Main Street and Sheridan Drive (NY 324
New York State Route 324
New York State Route 324 is an east–west state highway located in the western portion of New York in the United States...

).

Truncations

By 1935, NY 270 was realigned to bypass North Forest and Stahl Roads by way of a new section of Millersport Highway. In the early 1940s, NY 270 was extended north over Junction Road to meet US 104 at Warrens Corners. Around the same time, NY 263 was extended southwest to Buffalo over NY 270. Initially, NY 263 overlapped with NY 270 along Millersport Highway; however, the overlap was eliminated in the late 1940s after NY 270 was truncated to begin at NY 263 in Getzville. Similarly, NY 270 initially overlapped with NY 93
New York State Route 93
New York State Route 93 is a state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs in a northwest–southeast direction between NY 18F near the Niagara River in the village of Youngstown and NY 5 just south of the village of Akron...

 along Junction Road from Lower Mountain Road to US 104. At Lower Mountain Road, NY 93 left NY 270 and proceeded east toward Lockport on Lower Mountain and Gothic Hill Roads. NY 270 was truncated to the southern end of the overlap ca. 1963.

In the late 1970s, NY 93 was realigned to use Junction and Upper Mountain Roads instead. As a result, NY 270 was cut back to its junction with Upper Mountain Road. On November 1, 2005, the Niagara County Legislature voted on a measure that, if passed, would allow the county to ask the New York State Department of Transportation
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...

 (NYSDOT) to remove the NY 93 designation from Upper Mountain Road, a county-maintained highway, and reassign it to Junction Road (NY 270) and Saunders Settlement Road (NY 31). The change was intended to eliminate truck traffic on Upper Mountain Road while providing additional capacity to NY 93. This part of the agenda was passed. NYSDOT obliged to the request soon afterward, rerouting NY 93 as proposed and truncating NY 270 southward to NY 31.

Other developments

On December 1, 2008, the bridge carrying NY 270 over Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...

 (also the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

) was closed to traffic to allow construction to begin on a replacement bridge over the creek. The existing bridge was built in 1941 and considered to be structurally deficient. During construction, commuter traffic was detoured onto Tonawanda Creek and Bear Ridge Roads while trucks were instructed to follow NY 263, NY 78
New York State Route 78
New York State Route 78 , most commonly known as Transit Road, is a state highway in Western New York, USA. While it is signed north–south, the lower portion runs in an east–west direction across Wyoming County, from its beginning north of the Village of Gainesville.NY 78 is...

, and NY 93 around the closed bridge. The new bridge was opened to traffic in July 2009. NY 270's intersections with Tonawanda Creek Road (Erie CR 2) and Tonawanda Creek Road North (Niagara CR 60) on the north and south approaches to the bridge were reconstructed as part of the $10.9 million project. The new bridge is similar to the former, two-lane structure; however, unlike the old one, it has wide shoulders for bicyclists and includes new sidewalks for pedestrians.

Major intersections

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