No Exit 3 Of The Northway

I have always wondered why there was never an exit 3 on I-87, better know as the Adirondack Northway. As we drive up and down the Northway, we get to that part of the highway between Central Avenue and Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie.

There’s Sand Creek Road in between the two exits. It seems like exit 3 should’ve been there.

I did quite a bit of research to find the answer. Besides starting with your basic Google search, I also searched the Times Union’s web site and even good old Wikipedia. The closest I got to any kind of answer was from the CBS6Abany.com website, which also mentioned that the original plans drawn up in the 1950s, called for an exit 3. The story also included the McDonalds tv commercial that mentions that there is no exit 3. I always thought that commercial was pretty cool.

There was no real reason mentioned by anyone. There have been all kinds of forums and studies through the years, but nothing yet. According to the New York State Department Of Transportation, they still have plans to build one. So until it’s actually built, we’ll continue to go from exit 2 to exit 4, northbound, and exit 4 to exit 2, southbound. Why do you think there was never an exit 3?