was completed in July 1958. The gap between Wurtsboro and Fair Oaks in Orange County was filled on October 23, 1958, while the section between Ferndale and Rock Hill was completed in two stages. The section east of modern exit 104 in Monticello was opened in July 1959; the part north of that point opened in December 1960. By 1969, with the assistance of federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission procured by New York's US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the route provided nonstop access between Harriman and Binghamton, and by extension New York City to Binghamton. It connected the New York State Thruway (I-87) to I-81. Despite flaws in the highway's design—it included a grade-level railroad crossing near Fair Oaks (since removed) and two stretches with intersections and driveway access—the Quickway succeeded in easing travel through southern New York, cutting the driving time in half and the accident rate by 70 percent. Southern Tier Expressway In February 1953, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey proposed constructing four superhighways across the state to supplement the New York State Thruway. One of the four proposed limited-access highways would cut across the Southern Tier, linking I-90 in the west to Binghamton in the east. The first segments of what became known as the Southern Tier Expressway, a westward continuation of the Quickway, were completed in the mid-1960s. Four sections were opened to traffic at this time: Kennedy (exit 14) to Randolph (exit 16), Coldspring (exit 17) to western Salamanca (exit 20), Campbell (exit 41) to Corning (exit 45), and East Corning (exit 48) to Lowman (exit 57), parts of which were built as a surface highway. The Coldspring to Salamanca section was built out of necessity: in 1967, the first stress test of the Kinzua Dam had submerged part of the original NY 17 into the Allegheny Reservoir and made it impassable. Construction of the new highway destroyed most of the town of Red House. A fifth section, from Owego (exit 65) to Johnson City (exit 69), opened in early 1969. The portion of the expressway between Nichols (exit 62) and Owego was opened to traffic on October 3, 1969. Four more segments of the Southern Tier Expressway were completed over the course of the next three years. By 1972, the gaps between Randolph and Coldspring and from Johnson City to I-81 in Binghamton were filled while the expressway was extended west