On September 14, 1935, it was formally dedicated by Roosevelt, now President of the United States, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In all, the road cost $1.2 million to construct. President Roosevelt also requested that an elevator be constructed to help visitors from the parking lot to the summit of Whiteface Mountain. Unfortunately, Marcellus Leonard, the person considered to be the father of the highway, did not live to see the highway open as he died at 90 years old on February 23, 1935, a few months before the road opened. The completed highway was assigned NY 431, a designation which had been reserved for the road as early as 1932.