New York State Route31E (NY31E) is a 5.29-mile (8.51km)state highway located in western New York in the United States. It serves as a northerly alternate route of NY31 between the village of Middleport in eastern Niagara County and the nearby village of Medina in Orleans County. NY31E connects to NY31 at each end by way of a short overlap with NY271 in Middleport. Most of NY31E parallels the Erie Canal, and parts of the route run adjacent to the waterway. Outside of the two villages at each end, NY31E traverses mostly rural areas of the towns of Royalton and Ridgeway.
The origins of the route date back to 1914 when its routing was included as part of a spur route of Route30, a cross-state, unsigned legislative route. The spur route was eliminated in 1921, and the road went unnumbered until 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York when it became part of NY3. Most of NY3 west of Rochester was replaced by NY31 in the mid-1930s, and NY31 was realigned onto its present, more southerly alignment between Middleport and Medina in 1949. Its former canalside alignment became NY31E at this time. Most of NY31E is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, two sections in Niagara County and Medina are locally maintained.
Route description
Looking north along Main Street (NY31E and NY271) in Middleport. NY31E leaves NY271 in the background at State Street.
NY31E begins at an intersection with NY31 in the village of Middleport in eastern Niagara County. The route heads north as Main Street, overlapping with NY271 (which also begins at NY31) through the mostly residential village. Just south of the Erie Canal, NY31E and NY271 enter Middleport's small business district, centered on the junction of Main and State Streets. Here, NY31E and NY271 split, with NY31E following State Street eastward through the eastern portion of the community. Along this stretch, the route serves Royalton–Hartland High School and Royalton-Hartland Middle School before exiting Middleport and entering a slightly more open area of the town of Royalton. NY31E runs past undeveloped land to the north and a smattering of homes to the south on its way into the Orleans County town of Shelby New York|Ridgeway]].[3]
East of the county line, NY31E becomes Telegraph Road and continues across increasingly less developed areas of Ridgeway. The Erie Canal is visible from most of this section of NY31E, and about 1 mile (1.6km) of the highway runs directly alongside the waterway, which curves several times between Middleport and Medina. The two separate at the small hamlet of Shelby Basin, where the route follows a more southerly alignment into a more populated area. Not far to the east is the village of Medina, where NY31E changes names to West Center Street. The route heads east across the residential western half of the village, passing Prospect Avenue (former NY63) on its way into Medina's business district. NY31E passes the village's post office and enter the Main Street Historic District, where NY31E terminates at NY31 and NY 63.[3]
NY31E eastbound in Medina
Maintenance along the route varies by location. From the Niagara–Orleans county line to the Medina village line, NY31E is maintained by NYSDOT.[4] All of the route within Niagara County, excluding the state-maintained overlap with NY271 in Middleport, is county-maintained as the unsigned County Route143 (CR143).[5] In Medina, NY31E is entirely maintained by the village, though between the village line and Prospect Avenue (former NY63), it was NYSDOT-maintained for 0.25 miles (0.40km) to its terminus at NY31 until 2010.[4]
History
In 1914, the New York State Legislature added two spur routes to Route30, an unsigned legislative route extending from Niagara Falls in western Niagara County to Rouses Point in Clinton County via Medina.[6][7] The first of these began at Route30 (modern NY63) and followed what is now NY31E west to Middleport, from where it continued toward Lockport on current NY31.[8] On March1, 1921, most of Route30's Medina–Lockport spur route was supplanted by an extended Route20. The lone exception was from Medina to Middleport, where Route20 utilized modern NY31 instead.[9] When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, all of legislative Route20 west of Rochester became part of NY3.[10][11]
NY31E eastbound in Middleport. Although this section is county-maintained, reference markers remain posted along the road, as seen here.
NY3 remained on what is now NY31 between Middleport and Medina until the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York when it was realigned between the two villages to use what is now NY31E.[12]U.S. Route 104 was assigned to all of Ridge Road c.1935, replacing then-NY31 west of Rochester. As a result, NY31 was shifted southward onto most of NY3 from Niagara Falls to Rochester, including between Middleport and Medina.[13][14] NY31 was realigned on January1, 1949, to follow its current alignment between the two villages. The former routing of NY31 was redesignated as NY31E, a northerly alternate route of NY31.[2]
The alignment of NY31E has not changed since that time; however, ownership of parts of the route has changed hands over the years. Until 1998, NY31E was state-maintained from its western terminus in Middleport to the Medina village line.[4] On October1, 1998, ownership and maintenance of NY31E between NY271 in Middleport and the Niagara–Orleans county line was transferred from the state to Niagara County as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government.[15] This section of the route was subsequently co-designated, but not signed, as CR143 by Niagara County.[5]
↑"New York's Main Highways Designated by Numbers". The New York Times. December 21, 1924. p.XX9.
↑Official Map Showing State Highways and other important roads (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. State of New York Department of Public Works. 1926.
↑Automobile Legal Association (ALA) Automobile Green Book, 1930–31 and 1931–32 editions, (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1930 and 1931). The 1930–31 edition shows New York state routes prior to the 1930 renumbering
