New York State Route 179 (NY 179) is a short long state highway located south of Buffalo in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It is a four-lane divided road (albeit with traffic lights) for most of its length. It is known as Mile Strip Road. A small section between U.S. Route 62 (US 62) and NY 5 in Blasdell, however, is a limited-access highway known as the Mile Strip Expressway. It connects to two major expressways, the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90 or I-90) and the Southern Expressway (US 219), by way of interchanges. It serves as a connector road between them and three other major routes, NY 5, US 62, and US 20. Thus it is very busy not only at rush hours, but also after Buffalo Bills' home football games due to its proximity to Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Mile Strip Expressway was first constructed in the 1960s from NY 5 in Hamburg to US 62 in Blasdell. By 1968, it received its NY 179 designation. This was extended to the Thruway in the next decade and by 2001, was extended to its current eastern terminus at US 20 in Orchard Park. Although never constructed as such, the Mile Strip was intended to be a portion of the Belt Expressway, an outer loop for the city of Buffalo. Route description NY 179 begins at an interchange with NY 5 (Lake Shore Road) near the shores Lake Erie in Woodlawn Beach State Park. NY 179 proceeds eastward through the town of Hamburg as the Mile Strip Expressway, running north as a four-lane boulevard north of a stamping plant, operated by the Ford Motor Company. Just after the stamping plant, NY 179 enters its first interchange, Mile Strip Road, which connects to NY 179 east via a jughandle. Crossing into the town of Blasdell, the expressway crosses over three separate railroad grades consecutively before crossing into downtown Blasdell. In Blasdell, another railroad crosses the freeway after an interchange with Jeffrey Boulevard. A short distance later, NY 179 intersects with US 62 (South Park Avenue), where the expressway ends and NY 179 becomes the four-lane arterial boulevard known as Mile Strip Road. After re-crossing into Hamburg, NY 179 continues eastward as Mile Strip Road, entering a large interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90 exit 56), which connects via trumpet interchange. After bending northeast, the route