U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, New York, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region. The eastern terminus is at Route 3A in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Route description
New York
US 44 begins at an intersection with US 209 and NY 55 west of the hamlet of Kerhonkson in the town of Wawarsing in Ulster County. NY 55, concurrent with US 209 southwest of this point, turns east onto US 44, forming an overlap as the two routes proceed eastward across Ulster County. Midway between Kerhonkson and Gardiner and just north of NY 299, US 44 and NY 55 traverse a hairpin turn made necessary by the surrounding Shawangunk Ridge. Just inside of Gardiner, the highway passes through Minnewaska State Park, a large state park in the Hudson Valley.Farther east, the road passes through the hamlets of Clintondale and Modena where it crosses NY 32, and then meets US 9W in the hamlet of Highland. US 44 and NY 55 join US 9W for roughly a half-mile southward along the western bank of the Hudson River before separating at a trumpet interchange south of Highland. One mile east of US 9W, US 44 and NY 55 cross the Hudson on the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
File:US 44-NY 55 hairpin turn at Mohonk.jpg|thumb|Hairpin turn on US 44 and NY 55 near Mohonk Preserve in New York's Shawangunk Mountains.
On the opposite bank in Dutchess County, US 44 and NY 55 enter the city of Poughkeepsie. In the downtown area, US 44 and NY 55 connect with US 9 by way of an interchange before splitting into a pair of parallel one-way streets. At the eastern end of the parallel roadways in Arlington, just outside Poughkeepsie, US 44 and NY 55 split upon meeting Main Street at an interchange. NY 55 continues southeast through the junction as Manchester Road; US 44, however, joins Main Street to the northeast along what becomes the Dutchess Turnpike. West of the interchange, state maintenance continues along Main Street for an additional to County Route 38. This segment of Main Street is designated as NY 983W, an unsigned reference route. Past CR 38, Main Street becomes CR 114.
From Arlington, US 44 bends first to the north, then after 1.5 miles northeast, through intermittently developed areas, woodlots, and farms to the next settlement along its route, Pleasant Valley. In its commercial center the road widens to include a center turn lane. After crossing Wappinger Creek, it returns to two lanes.
The road returns to a more easterly course for two miles, then straightens out as it climbs steadily past the Newcomb–Brown Estate. It crests just before the interchange with the Taconic State Parkway. A mile past it, at the state police Troop K barracks, NY 82 joins from the north and the two roads overlap.
This concurrency ends after another mile, when US 44 diverges along the route of the former NY 44A, going around the village of Millbrook past the Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum, home to the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. The highway returns to a more due-east orientation as it passes north of the village, then gradually curves to the northeast again as it passes through a heavily farmed area.
US 44 gradually descends into the upper Harlem Valley, with a sharp hairpin turn providing a panoramic view to the south. A gradual descent takes it into downtown Amenia. At the center of town, the highway turns north and replaces NY 343 as NY 22's overlap.
A seven-mile journey over increasingly rolling and open terrain takes the two highways into the town of North East and towards Millerton. Just south of the village, NY 199 reaches its eastern terminus. The road enters Millerton on South Elm Street, making a sharp turn north that necessitates a concrete barrier and a lower speed limit just south of downtown.
At the traffic light just north of that bend, US 44 leaves NY 22 and turns right through Millerton's historic downtown. Maple Avenue on the south marks the former northern terminus of NY 361. After that junction, US 44 leaves the village. It passes some strip development on the south, bends slightly to the north and crosses the Connecticut state line just past a car dealership on the south.
Connecticut
For most of its journey through Connecticut, US 44 is known as the Jonathan Trumbull Highway. It is also known by more local names, including Albany Turnpike in Canton, West/East Main Street and Avon Mountain Road in Avon, Albany Avenue through West Hartford into Hartford, Boston Turnpike from Bolton Notch to Ashford, and Providence Pike near the Rhode Island border.After entering the state from the town of North East, New York just east of the village of Millerton, US 44 is a rural arterial road. It is briefly duplexed with Route 41 for through the center of Salisbury. After crossing into North Canaan, it is duplexed with US 7 for through the village of Canaan. After leaving the village, it enters Norfolk, where it has a brief concurrency with Route 272 in the center of town. After passing through the western part of Colebrook it enters the town of Winchester. As US 44 enters the village of Winsted, it begins a concurrency with Route 183, of which is joined by Route 8 in a triplex. At the east end of the village, Route 8 leaves to the south on an expressway, while Route 183 leaves to the south about 100 yards later. US 44 continues southeast through the towns of Barkhamsted, and New Hartford before entering Canton. In Canton, US 44 becomes a four-lane primary suburban arterial road as it is joined by US 202 for a concurrency to the center of Avon. As US 202 leaves to the north, US 44 is joined for the next by Route 10.
After climbing Avon Mountain, it enters West Hartford, passing along the northern part of the town and becoming an urban street as it entes the northern part of Hartford. After passing along Albany Avenue, and Main Street, US 44 turns east onto a pair of one-way streets that straddle I-84 and US 6 and cross under I-91 with the only direct access being from Morgan Street South to I-91 South. US 44 then joins I-84 and US 6 for about to cross the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge into East Hartford before exiting almost immediately onto Connecticut Boulevard. It briefly duplexes with US 5 on Main Street in East Hartford center before turning east onto Burnside Avenue. After entering Manchester, it meets I-84 once again at exit 60, and is joined in a concurrency for the next by US 6, which leaves its I-84 concurrency at this point.
The road then enters Bolton, where it meets the eastern terminus of I-384 at Bolton Notch. US 44 and US 6 briefly join the stub end of the expressway before US 6 splits off to the southeast. US 44 becomes more of a secondary rural road as it enters Coventry, where it briefly overlaps with Route 31. It then enters Mansfield, where it meets Route 195 at the "Four Corners", which provides access to the village of Storrs and the main campus of the University of Connecticut. After passing through Ashford, and Eastford, it turns north at Route 101 in Pomfret, which provides a more direct route to Providence. Shortly thereafter, Route 169 joins for a concurrency to the center of town. US 44 once again turns east, and then enters the town of Putnam. After a concurrency with Route 12, it meets I-395 at exit 47. to the east, US 44 crosses the Rhode Island state line into the town of Glocester.
Rhode Island
US 44 runs in Rhode Island. During this part of the road, US 44 is often referred to locally as "Putnam Pike" as the road runs through Rhode Island and into Putnam, Connecticut. US 44 enters the state at Glocester, traveling through Chepachet and Harmony, villages of Glocester, as it heads through the Waterman Reservoir towards the village of Greenville in the town of Smithfield. US 44 has a junction with I-295 in Smithfield at a cloverleaf interchange. Soon after the I-295 junction, US 44 enters the town of North Providence along Smith Street, then enters the city proper of Providence after another. In downtown Providence, US 44 separates into one-way pairs. Eastbound US 44 runs along Canal Street and South Water Street. Westbound US 44 runs along South Main Street and North Main Street. US 1A joins US 44 at an intersection with Point Street and Wickenden Street. US 44 and US 1A join I-195/US 6 at Exit 1B as they cross the Seekonk River into East Providence. US 44 leaves I-195/US 6 at Exit 1C just after crossing the river and continues east towards the Massachusetts state line along Taunton Avenue.Massachusetts
US 44 runs for in Massachusetts. It enters the state in the town of Seekonk along Taunton Avenue. It continues through the towns of Rehoboth and Dighton along the way to the city of Taunton. It continues eastward from Taunton through the towns of Raynham, Lakeville, Middleborough, Carver, Plympton and Kingston before reaching its eastern terminus at Plymouth. US 44 has interchanges with Route 24 in Raynham and with Interstate 495 in Middleborough. East of the Middleborough Rotary, US 44 becomes an arterial highway for five miles until just past the intersection with Route 105, where it turns into a two-lane freeway with a guard rail acting as a median divider for three miles until just before the intersection with Route 58. After that, it becomes a newly built, freeway section to Route 3 which bypasses the congested business district in Plymouth. US 44 has no access from Route 80 on the new bypass highway. Near its eastern terminus, US 44 overlaps Route 3 for about, then exits and continues as a surface road for approximately another half mile, ending at Route 3A.In Rehoboth, US 44 passes near Anawan Rock, site of the capture of Anawan, the War Chief of the Pocasset People, in 1676. His capture marked the end of King Philip's War. In Middleborough, it passes by Oliver Mill Park, site of Judge Peter Oliver's 18th-century industrial complex. Ancient stone-walled waterways still remain here on the banks of the Nemasket River.
In Taunton, US 44 takes on a more urban character as it cuts through the heart of the city. The route runs along the south side of Taunton Green, flanked by shops, businesses, and government buildings.