Thruway was built there was little traffic on what later became NY 300 (at that time, a county road); the completion of I-84 and the subsequent development of the NY 300 corridor has increased traffic volumes in the area significantly. In this setup, traffic left the freeway and encountered stop signs and traffic signals while traveling from one road to the other. The inadequate cloverleaf design of the junction between I-84 and Union Avenue led to problems, especially with articulateds, which must slow significantly to negotiate the sharp loop slips, and weave with traffic attempting to leave the freeway westbound. The I-84 off-slips had stop signs at the NY 300 termini; and there was no cloverleaf weaving area northbound through the junction. Southbound, traffic had to weave to join NY 300, or bear right to join the Thruway. For many years state and local officials had wanted to build a direct connection between I-84 and the Thruway; however, federal funding did not become available until the very end of the 20th century. The New York State Thruway Authority had a project in the works to link exit 17 directly with I-84, bypassing NY 300; and reconstruct the interchange between NY 300 and I-84 (exit 36). Plans online showed this as a diamond junction for the Interstate 84/NY 300 link; but there are signals in place for a left turn not shown in the Thruway Authority plans. The junction between the Thruway and Interstate 84 works were begun in 2001 but the project was delayed when the original contractor for the job was found to have ties to organized crime. As of May 2006, total work on the project consisted of a rebuilding of the eastbound old exit&nbsp7; off-slip, removal of the southbound NY 300 to eastbound I-84 loop slip, installation of a traffic light, and the rerouting of the southbound NY 300 to eastbound I-84 movement via the same slip ramp that services the northbound NY 300 to eastbound I-84 movement. The ramp for northbound exit 17 on the Thruway has been widened to two lanes and new signage has gone up on the northbound Thruway and westbound I-84. The direct connection between I-84 and the Thruway was finally completed in December 2009, after being under construction for five years. Points of interest NY 300 has a large share of local attractions. The Newburgh Town Clerk is located along NY