 I @-@ 87 was assigned in 1957 as part of the establishment of the Interstate Highway System . The portion of I @-@ 87 south of Albany follows freeways that predate the Interstate Highway designation , namely , the Major Deegan Expressway in New York City and the New York State Thruway from the New York City line to Albany . North of Albany , I @-@ 87 follows the Adirondack Northway , a highway built in stages between 1957 and 1967 . Early proposals for I @-@ 87 called for the route to take a more easterly course through the Hudson Valley and extreme southwestern Connecticut between New York City and Newburgh . These plans were scrapped in 1970 when I @-@ 87 was realigned onto the Thruway between Westchester County and Newburgh . 
