I-190

About I-190

Also known as Niagara Thruway.

Interstate 190 is a three-digit auxiliary route of Interstate 90. Its odd prefix digit marks it as a spur or connector, and the number is reused in several states. In Illinois, Interstate 190 is a short freeway of about three miles forming the westernmost leg of the Kennedy Expressway, carrying Interstate 90 traffic directly into Chicago O'Hare International Airport. A rapid transit line runs in its median for the full length of the route.

In New York, Interstate 190 is a longer north-south route that connects Interstate 90 in Buffalo with the Canadian border near Niagara Falls. It passes through downtown Buffalo, crosses to Grand Island, and skirts Niagara Falls before crossing the Niagara River into Ontario on the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. The southern portion is the Niagara Thruway and part of the New York State Thruway system, while the northern portion is the Niagara Expressway.

In Massachusetts, Interstate 190 is a roughly twenty mile north-south route in Worcester County that begins at Interstate 290 in Worcester and runs north to a state highway near Leominster. All three of these routes function as connectors or spurs serving their metro areas.

History

The New York route was built as part of the New York State Thruway system, with its Niagara Thruway segment integrated into that tolled network. The Illinois route was developed as the airport extension of the Kennedy Expressway with provision for the median transit line, and the Massachusetts route was completed to link Worcester northward toward Leominster and Fitchburg.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Lewiston-Queenston Bridge over the Niagara River
• Median transit line at Chicago O'Hare
• Access to Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Did you know

• The Illinois route is the westernmost leg of the Kennedy Expressway into O'Hare.
• The New York route reaches the Canadian border near Niagara Falls.
• A rapid transit line runs in the median of the Illinois route.
• The same number serves three unrelated metro areas in three states.