New York State Route 12 (NY 12) is a state highway extending for 222.27 miles (357.71 km) through central and northern New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in the town of Chenango in the Southern Tier. The northern terminus is at NY 37 near the village of Morristown in the North Country. In between, the route serves three cities of varying size: Norwich, Utica, and Watertown. NY 12 intersects several primary routes, including US 20 in Sangerfield, New York State Thruway via Interstate 790 (I-790) in Utica, overlaps NY 28 from Barneveld to the town of Remsen, NY 3 in Watertown, and I-81 in Pamelia and Orleans.

Interstate 81 (I-81) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from I-40 at Dandridge, Tennessee, to the Thousand Islands Bridge at Wellesley Island in New York, beyond which the short 2.7-mile (4.3 km) Ontario Highway 137 (Highway 137) links it to Highway 401. In the US state of New York, I-81 extends 183.60 miles (295.48 km) from the Pennsylvania state line southeast of Binghamton to the Canadian border at Wellesley Island northwest of Alexandria Bay. The freeway runs north–south through Central New York, serving the cities of Binghamton, Syracuse, and Watertown. It passes through the Thousand Islands in its final miles and crosses two bridges, both part of the series of bridges known as the Thousand Islands Bridge.