I-287

About I-287

Also known as Cross Westchester Expressway.

Interstate 287 is a three-digit auxiliary route tied to Interstate 95 and Interstate 87. As a three-digit number it prefixes a single digit to a two-digit parent, and because that prefix is an even digit, the number signals a loop or bypass rather than a simple spur. There is one continuous I-287, and it traces a roughly horseshoe-shaped outer belt around the western and northern edges of the New York metropolitan area across New Jersey and New York.

The route begins at the New Jersey Turnpike, which carries Interstate 95, in Edison, New Jersey, and runs northwest and then north through the suburban and mountainous parts of northern New Jersey, paralleled in places by U.S. 202. It crosses into New York at Suffern and briefly joins the New York State Thruway, Interstate 87, eastward through Rockland County and across the Hudson River. East of the river it follows the Cross Westchester Expressway across Westchester County to White Plains and on to a junction with Interstate 95 at Rye.

The corridor functions as an outer suburban bypass that lets traffic skirt the dense core of the New York area, connecting two arms of Interstate 95 by way of Interstate 87. It is one of the busier commuter routes in the region, especially the Cross Westchester Expressway segment.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Hudson River crossing on the New York State Thruway shared segment
• Cross Westchester Expressway

Did you know

• It connects two separate arms of Interstate 95 by way of Interstate 87.
• It briefly runs concurrently with the New York State Thruway through Rockland County.
• The Westchester portion is the Cross Westchester Expressway.
• The even prefix digit reflects its role as an outer belt rather than a spur.