 New York State Route 3 | ||||
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 Map of northern New York with NY 3 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NYSDOT and the cities of Watertown and Plattsburgh | ||||
| Length | 245.88 mi[1] (395.71 km) | |||
| Existed | 1924[2]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Great Lakes Seaway Trail | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  NY 104A in Sterling | |||
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| East end |  US 9 in Plattsburgh | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Essex, Franklin, Clinton | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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New York State Route 3 (NY 3) is a major east–west state highway in New York, in the United States, that connects central New York to the North Country region near the Canada–US border via Adirondack Park. The route extends for 245.88 miles (395.71 km) between its western terminus at an intersection with NY 104A in the Cayuga County town of Sterling and its eastern terminus at a junction with U.S. Route 9 (US 9) in the Clinton County city of Plattsburgh. NY 3 traverses eight counties and is a lakeside roadway from Mexico to Sackets Harbor, a mountainous route in Adirondack Park, and an urban arterial in Fulton, Watertown, and Plattsburgh.
In 1924, the segment of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway within New York was designated NY 3. At that time, it spanned the full east–west length of the state, extending from the eastern bank of the Niagara River in North Tonawanda to the western edge of Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh; however, the routing through the North Country was significantly different at that time from its modern alignment. The route was moved onto its modern routing east of Watertown as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York; it was truncated to Sterling on its western end and rerouted to follow its current alignment from Sterling to Watertown roughly five years later.
Since 1924, there have been 14 suffixed routes of NY 3, all designated between NY 3A and NY 3G. Of these, all but one only existed during the 1930s. The only active designation is NY 3A, which was assigned in the 1950s to an alternate route of NY 3 in Jefferson County.