Interstate 890

Interstate 890
Map of New York with I-890 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length:	9.45 mi (15.21 km)
Existed:	c. 1962 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-90 / New York Thruway in Rotterdam
East end:	I-90 / New York Thruway in Guilderland
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business New York Highways Interstate U.S. State Reference Parkways ← NY 878 NY 890 →

Interstate 890 (I-890) is a 9.45-mile (15.21 km) long auxiliary Interstate Highway in the vicinity of Schenectady, New York, in the United States. The highway runs southeast–northwest from an interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-90) northwest of Schenectady to another junction with the Thruway south of the city and passes through Downtown Schenectady along the way. Most of I-890 is six lanes wide, including a section that runs above an industrial section of Schenectady on an elevated highway. I-890 is a local, toll-free alternative to the Thruway, which bypasses the city and its suburbs to the southwest.

The section of I-890 west of downtown Schenectady was mostly built over what was once part of New York State Route 5S (NY 5S). I-890 was constructed in stages during the 1960s and 1970s, and NY 5S was gradually cut back to its current terminus west of Schenectady as more pieces of I-890 were completed. The highway is one of two Interstate Highways in New York to use distance-based exit numbering, the result of a New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) experiment from the 1970s. In Schenectady County, I-890 is designated as the Schenectady County Veterans Memorial Highway.

I-890 begins at the toll booth for exit 26 of the New York State Thruway in the Schenectady County town of Rotterdam. It initially heads to the east, connecting to NY 890 and NY 5S by way of a modified trumpet interchange that directly feeds into the Thruway junction. At this point, I-890 takes over the four-lane right-of-way established by NY 890 to the north and follows the Mohawk River (Erie Canal) and CSX Transportation's Selkirk Subdivision rail line southeast toward Schenectady. The first 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of I-890 passes through mostly undeveloped, wooded areas, a trend that finally ends as the highway curves east to meet the north end of NY 337 at exit 2 near the Rotterdam Square shopping mall. Continuing on, I-890 follows the Mohawk River along the northern edge of General Electric's Schenectady plant, connecting to the facility by way of two separate exits serving different parts of the complex.