What's happening
This bill allows certain vehicles to travel specific short distances on designated routes to and from New York State Thruway interchanges if deemed safe and compliant by the transportation commissioner.
Why it matters
Expands legal routes for large or specialized vehicles. By specifying additional short routes near Thruway interchanges, the bill enables certain vehicles (such as tandem trucks) to legally travel off the Thruway for limited distances, addressing gaps where such movement was previously restricted or unclear.
Supports logistics and freight efficiency. The targeted routes often connect Thruway exits to local roads, service areas, or tandem lots, which can streamline operations for freight companies, reduce unnecessary detours, and potentially lower transportation costs.
Prioritizes safety and compliance. Each route is conditional on the transportation commissioner’s determination that it is safe for the specified vehicles and compliant with federal laws, ensuring that expanded access does not compromise public safety or regulatory obligations.
May impact local traffic and infrastructure. Allowing larger vehicles on these specific segments could have localized effects—such as increased wear on roads, traffic patterns, or noise—which local municipalities and residents near these interchanges may notice.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Vehicle Size Routes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to transportation
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1226
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to transportation
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6170
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 21, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- (at request of the Thruway Authority) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the maximum dimension of certain vehicles proceeding to and from the New York state thruway
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 16 of section 385 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding fifteen new paragraphs (v), (w), (x), (y), (z), (aa), (bb), (cc), (dd), (ee), (ff), (gg), (hh), (ii) and (jj) to read as follows:
(v) Within a distance of approximately one mile from the New York state thruway interchange 24 traveling along interstate route 90 to interchange 2 Washington avenue, and to Washington avenue traveling westbound to Fuller road in a northerly direction to interstate route 90 traveling to interchange 24 of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(w) Within a distance of approximately .25 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 25A, traveling in a westbound direction along interstate route 88 to exit 25 to route 7, and to a left on Becker road traveling in a southbound direction on Becker road for approximately .2 miles to the New York state thruway interchange 25A tandem lot access road, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other require-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09326-03-9
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ment prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(x) Within a distance of approximately 2.2 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 34A traveling in a southbound direction along interstate route 481 to interstate 481 exit 5E Kirkville road east along state route 53 Kirkville road in an eastbound direction to interstate route 481 traveling northbound to exit 6 to interchange 34A of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(y) Within a distance of approximately .8 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 35, traveling approximately two hundred feet around Carrier circle to traveling northbound on Thompson road for approximately one thousand feet, or traveling southbound on Thompson road approximately one hundred feet, to traveling westbound on Tarbell road for approximately .5 miles to reenter at the Dewitt service area of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(z) Within a distance of approximately one mile from the New York state thruway interchange 36 traveling in a southbound direction on interstate 81 to interstate 81 exit 25 7th North street, and traveling eastbound on 7th North street to interstate 81 traveling in a northbound direction to interchange 36 of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(aa) Within a distance of approximately .6 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 39 traveling eastbound on interstate 690 to interstate 690 exit 2 Jones road in a northbound direction to state route 690 north to interchange 39 of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(bb) Within a distance of approximately .5 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 45, traveling on interstate 490 to interstate 490 exit 29, in a south westerly direction along New York state route 96 to the point where New York state route 96 intersects with the entrance ramp to the New York state thruway interchange 45, and for approximately .2 miles along this entrance ramp to the New York state thruway interchange 45, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(cc) Within a distance of approximately .6 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 46, traveling in a northeasterly direction on the ramp from the New York state thruway interchange 46 to interstate
S. 6170 3
390 north exit to New York state route 253, Lehigh Station road, for a distance of approximately .5 miles along the ramp from interstate 390 north exit to New York state route 253, Lehigh Station road, for a distance of approximately .6 miles in a westerly direction along New York state route 253, Lehigh Station road, to the intersection of New York state route 253 with New York state route 15, then for a distance of approximately .6 miles in a southerly direction along New York state route 15, to the New York state thruway interchange 46 maintenance facility entrance, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(dd) Within a distance of approximately .3 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 47, traveling on interstate 490 to interstate 490 exit 1, to a distance of approximately .2 miles along the ramp from interstate 490 exit 1 to Valance road, for a distance of approximately .4 miles in a south westerly direction along Valance road to the entrance ramp of the New York state thruway interchange 47, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(ee) Within a distance of approximately .2 miles in a north westerly direction from the New York state thruway interchange 61 exit to Shortman road, for a distance of approximately .4 miles in a south easterly direction along Shortman road to the interstate 90 eastbound entrance ramp of the New York state thruway interchange 61, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(ff) Within a distance of approximately .6 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 19, traveling in a westbound direction along route 28 to route 209, and traveling in a southbound direction on route 209 for approximately .1 miles to route 28, and traveling in an eastbound direction on route 28 for approximately .8 miles to the New York state thruway interchange 19, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(gg) Within a distance of approximately .5 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 31, traveling onto the ramp to Genesee street south for approximately twenty-eight hundred feet to Genesee street north for approximately two hundred seventy-five feet to interchange 31 of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(hh) Within a distance of approximately .2 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 33 traveling westbound on state route 365 for approximately nine hundred feet to interchange 33 of the New York state thruway, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the
S. 6170 4
vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(ii) Within a distance of approximately .15 miles from the New York state thruway interchange 42 traveling on state route 14 for approximately seven hundred fifty feet for travel to and from the thruway tandem lot and interchange 42, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation, or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
(jj) Within a distance of approximately 0.1 miles from the New York state interchange 43 traveling on state route 21 for approximately six hundred feet for travel to and from the thruway tandem lot and interchange 43, where the commissioner of transportation determines that the vehicle or combination of vehicles could operate safely along the designated route and that no applicable federal law, regulation or other requirement prohibits the operation of such vehicle or combination of vehicles on such route.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the maximum dimension of certain vehicles proceeding to and from the New York state thruway
Purpose of the bill
This bill would allow tandem trailers to operate along various locations along the Thruway System in order to access Thruway tandem lots.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 385(16)(s) to allow tandems/combination vehicles to operate along specified routes proximate to the Thruway in order to allow safe travel for such vehi- cles.
Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.
Justification
The Thruway's Ticketed System (Mainline 1-90 and 1-87 and the Erie Section) is expected to be cashless by the end of 2020. This conversion will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and decrease commute times for the approximately 265 million motorists who travel the Thruway each year. As part of the transition from fixed barrier to gantries, some of the existing tandem lot locations will need to be modified or new lots created to ensure tandem and combination vehicles are able to safely utilize the Thruway System. This legislation will authorize these vehi- cles to travel the short distances required to access the tandem lots.
Prior legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None to State.
Effective date
The bill would take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.