Where I came from, WNY, there are 3 interstates that are available: I90, I86 & I80 that allow a straight line from Ohio to NYC/DC.... all 3 are within 100 miles parallel...
In New York, I-90 (and I-87) form the New York Thruway and it opened in 1955. A connection to the Massachusetts Turnpike that carries I-90 west from Albany to the Massachusetts state line opened in 1959.
I-86 mostly is upgrades of New York route 17 - which has existed in some capacity since the early 1900s, was signed in 1924. Starting in the 1950s, it was upgraded to a freeway, and eventually a large amount of the highway marked as I-86 once enough of the highway had been upgraded. The final traffic signal was eliminated in 2011.
I-80 in Pennsylvania opened in stages from 1953 to 1970. The Pennsylvania Turnpike would have been a viable, but less direct route between Ohio and New York City, and it opened in the 1940s. I-80 in New Jersey was completed around the same time frame.
Where I came from, WNY, there are 3 interstates that are available: I90, I86 & I80 that allow a straight line from Ohio to NYC/DC.... all 3 are within 100 miles parallel...
In New York, I-90 (and I-87) form the New York Thruway and it opened in 1955. A connection to the Massachusetts Turnpike that carries I-90 west from Albany to the Massachusetts state line opened in 1959.
I-86 mostly is upgrades of New York route 17 - which has existed in some capacity since the early 1900s, was signed in 1924. Starting in the 1950s, it was upgraded to a freeway, and eventually a large amount of the highway marked as I-86 once enough of the highway had been upgraded. The final traffic signal was eliminated in 2011.
I-80 in Pennsylvania opened in stages from 1953 to 1970. The Pennsylvania Turnpike would have been a viable, but less direct route between Ohio and New York City, and it opened in the 1940s. I-80 in New Jersey was completed around the same time frame.