bypass the narrow Storm King Highway, US 9W's original routing between the two. On April 8, 1934, three people were killed by a rockslide on the Storm King Highway, expediting plans for the new highway, known as the Storm King Cut-off. The southernmost of the highway—from the bridge to just north of Fort Montgomery—utilized the existing right-of-way of US 9W, which was widened from two to four lanes and straightened through the construction of rock cuts. Construction on this segment was completed in 1937. The portion of the bypass from Fort Montgomery to Cornwall-on-Hudson, with the exception of a stretch northwest of Highland Falls, was constructed on a new alignment. It was built with four lanes and constructed along the sides of Storm King Mountain and other, smaller hills in the area. The high elevation of the roadway gave rise to a bevy of scenic, panoramic views that stretched for several miles into the distance; as a result, a fifth lane was added in some areas to allow motorists to stop and view the scenery. Like the section south of Fort Montgomery, the one-mile stretch that utilized the original US 9W was widened to four lanes as well. Several interchanges were built along the route, including with NY 293 and NY 307. The cut-off was opened to traffic from Fort Montgomery to NY 293 sometime in 1939 or 1940 and to Angola Road (CR 9) on September 26, 1940. The last section, from Angola Road north to Blooming Grove Turnpike north of Cornwall-on-Hudson, was opened to traffic on May 31, 1941. US 9W was realigned to follow the cut-off while its old route via the Storm King Highway became NY 218. Bypasses have also been proposed or constructed in other locations. In Kingston, US 9W was originally routed on Wurts Street, McEntee Street, Broadway, and East Chester Street. An easterly bypass of the city between Wurts Street and NY 32 was constructed in the late 1970s and completed as a realignment of US 9W by 1981. The portion of US 9W's former alignment south of Abeel Street in Kingston became NY 984D, an unsigned reference route. In Albany, the north end of US 9W and part of US 9 would have been rerouted onto a proposed limited-access highway called the Mid–Crosstown Arterial. The project was eventually cancelled. Major intersections See also List of reference routes in New York References External