Interstate 84 in New York

Interstate 84 (I-84) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the eastern United States. In New York, I-84 extends 71.46 miles (115.00 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Port Jervis to the Connecticut state line east of Brewster. As it heads east–west across the mid Hudson Valley, it goes over two mountain ranges and crosses the Hudson River at the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

It is the only freeway to cross New York from west to east between New York City and the Capital District. As such it is the main vehicular route between southern New England and Pennsylvania and points west. It is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), which resumed full control in 2010 after two decades in which routine maintenance was performed by the New York State Thruway Authority under yearly contract from DOT. The New York State Bridge Authority charges a toll for eastbound traffic crossing the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

Construction of the highway began later than other Interstates in New York as legal hurdles to the construction of the bridge had to be removed, and federal funding was more limited when it finally began in 1960. It was completed 12 years later, becoming a major commercial artery and mainstay of the Hudson Valley economy and offering travelers a view of some of the state's scenic areas in the Shawangunks and Hudson Highlands.

I-84 passes through three counties. The entire stretch between the Delaware and Hudson, more than half the road's total length in New York alone, is in Orange County. East of the river the road begins in Dutchess County and then drops southward into Putnam County. As an Interstate Highway, all of I-84 in New York is included in the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

Two other highways parallel the Interstate for some length. U.S. Route 6 (US 6) follows it closely near the state lines, but takes a southerly course between those two areas. New York State Route 52 (NY 52) joins I-84 from Newburgh to Fishkill and remains parallel from there to Lake Carmel.

I-84 enters New York near Port Jervis via a long bridge that crosses both the Delaware and Neversink rivers just above their confluence. This bridge is owned and maintained by the NYSDOT, including the portion in Pennsylvania. South of the road at the confluence is Tri-State Rock, where New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania converge. For its first mile in New York, the Interstate is immediately north of the New Jersey state line in the city of Port Jervis. The first exit is signed for US 6 and New Jersey Route 23, which begins just south of the exit.

US 6 remains parallel to the north of the freeway as I-84 begins an immediate climb away from the state line up the Shawangunk Ridge, beginning an east-northeast slant in its direction that will continue for almost 30 miles (48 km). The roadway crests at 1,275 feet (389 m), its highest elevation in New York. Scenic overlooks on either side allow travelers to stop and take in the expansive view of Port Jervis, the lower Neversink valley and adjacent regions of Pennsylvania. On the descent, US 6 crosses under the Interstate again, reachable by a short drive south on Mountain Road at exit 4.

East of the Shawangunks it is 13 miles (21 km) to the next exit. The freeway winds through swamps from which the obelisk atop High Point, New Jersey's highest mountain, is visible. These give way to wooded areas eventually broken by fields in Wawayanda where Route 6 crosses over again to merge with NY 17M and recross at exit 15, the first of two that serve the city of Middletown. A mile and a half (2.4 km) further east along that roadway is the Middletown rest area, with restrooms and a state police substation. The other Middletown exit serves NY 17, the long freeway slowly being transformed into I-86, another mile farther to the east.