On the eastern riverbank, NY 990L intersects the lengthy County Route 32 (CR 32, named East River Road).

The CR 32 designation ends here, giving way to the state-maintained NY 990L as the latter turns north onto East River Road.

[3][4] The River Road portion of NY 990L is initially less developed as it passes by riverside homes to the west and forested mountains to the east.

Near a junction known as Hawley Corners, the amount of development along the highway increases as NY 990L passes by warehouses and small commercial establishments.

The survey was part of a statewide effort to rebuild major through-traffic city streets as state-maintained arterial highways.

[7] The commission countered with a proposal calling for the construction of a new highway along the east bank of the Chenango River that bypassed downtown.

[13] A project to improve the remaining arterial highways was finally developed by the state and presented to Norwich officials in January 1958.

[11] As a result of the increased highway width, the project required the removal of 94 trees along Broad Street, a development the city had tried to avoid in 1951.

Construction on the $700,000 project (equivalent to $7.32 million in 2025) began in January 1959[15][14] and continued through at least 1961, when the new bridge carrying East Main Street over the Chenango River was completed.