Interstate 87: The Adirondack Northway

Champlain is the last village in NY State before customs on the Canadian Border. Here our Adirondack Northway, I-87 becomes Provincial 15 and will take you into Montreal, Canada. As far as roads go, our Interstates are far better designed and maintained than the Canadian equivalents. I just went up to Champlain. Usually, I try to be a booster type, especially in the Parks for tourism. But Champlain is a border village that is in depression. All the independent places: gas station, truck repair and scales, diner, have gone out of business recently. The ones left are the corporate places. US 9 dies an ignoble death as a trash strewn cul de sac just south of the border stations, with a couple duty free stores on its last mile. There is hardly a business open in the village of Champlain. Though Moerrs, west of Champlain where NY 22 crosses US 11, is better off. The border towns depend on cross border tourism and trade and that has been throttled by stricter border controls at the once laid back and numerous Upstate New York crossings into Quebec.