Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York. I-287, which is signed north–south in New Jersey and east–west in New York, follows a roughly horseshoe-shaped route from the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) in Edison Township, New Jersey, clockwise to the New England Thruway (I-95) in Rye, New York, for 98.72 miles (158.87 km). Through New Jersey, I-287 runs west from its southern terminus in Edison through suburban areas. In Bridgewater Township, the freeway takes a more northeasterly course, paralleled by U.S. Route 202 (US 202). The northernmost part of I-287 in New Jersey passes through mountainous surroundings. After crossing into New York at Suffern, I-287 turns east on the New York State Thruway (I-87) and runs though Rockland County. After crossing the Hudson River on the Tappan Zee Bridge, I-287 splits from I-87 near Tarrytown and continues east through Westchester County on the Cross-Westchester Expressway until it reaches the New England Thruway. Within New Jersey, I-287 is maintained by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), and within New York, it is maintained by the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA).
A bypass around New York City had been planned since the 1950s and would become a part of the Interstate Highway System and receive the I-287 designation. The Cross-Westchester Expressway, which was originally designated as Interstate 187, opened in 1960 as Interstate 487 before later becoming part of I-287. The New York State Thruway portion of I-287, which included a crossing of the Hudson River, opened in 1955. In New Jersey, the proposed I-287 had originally been designated as FAI Corridor 104 and incorporated what was planned as the Middlesex Freeway. The New Jersey section of I-287 between the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison and US 202 in Montville opened in stages between the 1960s and 1973; the remainder was completed by 1994. The aging Tappan Zee Bridge was replaced with a new span which opened in stages between 2017 and 2018.
New Jersey[]
I-287 begins at an interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) in Edison in Middlesex County, New Jersey, where the freeway continues east as Route 440 towards Perth Amboy and Staten Island. From this point, it heads west as an eight-lane freeway through suburban areas, soon reaching an interchange with US 1. Past this point, the road turns more to the northwest and I-287 narrows to six lanes. As the freeway continues into South Plainfield, the highway intersects NJ Route 18. After Route 18, the freeway continues into Somerset County.
After crossing over the Raritan River, I-287 enters Franklin Township, Somerset County and becomes the Captain (Ret) Joseph Azzolina, US Navy Highway. Soon after the river, there is an interchange with county route 527. The highway continues into Bridgewater Township. Within Bridgewater Township, I-287 curves north-northwest. Past this area, the road encounters Route 28 at an interchange. Past Route 28, the freeway turns northwest and intersects US 22 at a partial interchange with a northbound exit and entrance and southbound entrance. From this point, I-287 makes a turn to the west and runs to the north of US 22 as it has a wide median. The freeway turns northwest as it passes near the Bridgewater Commons shopping mall and reaches a partial interchange with US 202/US 206. Through the remainder of New Jersey, US 202 parallels the course of I-287. At this point, I-287 gains a local-express lane configuration, with 3 local and 2 express lanes southbound and 3 express and 3 local lanes northbound. Both the southbound local and express lanes have access to southbound US 202/US 206 at this interchange, whereas northbound US 202/US 206 only has access to the local lanes of northbound I-287. Here, I-287 intersects I-78 at the Vincent R. Kramer Interchange, where the local-express lane configuration ends.
In Morris county, the Interstate passes the city of Morristown. Then, it intersects Interstate 80 in Parsippany. Following this interchange, the freeway becomes six lanes, with three in each direction as it continues into more wooded areas and reaching an exit with access to US 46 and US 202/CR 511. The freeway enters Boonton, where it turns northeast. In Boonton, there is another interchange with US 202/CR 511. From here, I-287 curves more to the east, with US 202 running immediately to the north of the road. Upon entering Montville, the passes near wooded residential areas before coming to another interchange with US 202. I-287 continues northeast from this point, drawing away from US 202 before running north-northeast through more woodland as the terrain starts to get more mountainous. This stretch of I-287 continues for six miles before its next exit. The freeway runs through Kinnelon, where the northbound direction has four lanes, and Pequannock Township before entering Riverdale.
Immediately after this, I-287 continues northeast and turns north as it briefly passes through Pompton Lakes before crossing into Wanaque. After this, I-287 passes through rock cuts in the Ramapo Mountains before making a sharp turn east as it crosses high above the Wanaque River valley on a bridge. The freeway continues into Oakland, Bergen County. Following this, the road crosses the Ramapo River before passing near neighborhoods and reaching a junction with US 202. After US 202, I-287 enters Franklin Lakes and coming to an interchange with the northern terminus of Route 208. Past this interchange, I-287 narrows to four lanes and turns northeast. The freeway passes wooded residential neighborhoods prior to turning north and entering Mahwah Township. The freeway crosses the Ramapo River again before reaching an interchange with Route 17. At this point, Route 17 forms a concurrency with I-287 and the road widens to six lanes and crosses the New York state line.
New York[]
See also: New York State Thruway
In New York, I-287 heads east concurrent with Interstate 87 on the New York Thruway. It has interchanges with several parkways, such as the Garden State and Palisades Parkways. After I-87 leaves the concurrency to head south towards Queens, Interstate 287 continues east until it meets its "eastern" terminus with I-95 In Rye, New York.