U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Rich Creek, Virginia, to West Seneca, New York.

The road begins by heading northward towards the Southern Tier Expressway, paralleling Tunungwant Creek.

[5] Just after the Pennsylvania border, East Main Street becomes Hillside Drive and soon after Old U.S. Route 219 as it parallels US 219 for a short time.

The three roads overlap for six miles (10 km) until exit 21, where US 219 leaves the Southern Tier Expressway in Salamanca.

About 2 miles (3 km) from the county line, US 219 connects to NY 39 at an interchange west of the village of Springville.

[11] The route continues, connecting to CR 44 (New Armor Duells Road), a highway leading to NY 240 in the village of Orchard Park.

The highway continues, curving to the northwest as it enters West Seneca and approaches the New York State Thruway (I-90).

The first segment of the expressway—between the New York State Thruway east of Lackawanna and US 20A west of Orchard Park—opened to traffic by 1973 as a realignment of US 219.

[35][36] The former surface routing of US 219 between North Boston and Hamburg was redesignated as NY 391 following the completion of the expressway's first segment in the early 1970s[31][37] while the remainder of US 219's former routing south to Springville was transferred to Erie County upon the completion of the entire Springville–Buffalo segment of the Southern Expressway.

[38] Plans to extend the Southern Expressway southward from NY 39 in Springville to Peters Road in Ashford, a distance of 4.2 miles (6.8 km), had been in development for years before they were finally put into action in the mid-2000s.

[39] The rights to the project were awarded to Cold Spring Construction on January 26, 2007, with work commencing on June 1.

[40][42] It was restored sometime afterward, and the highway was completed on November 19, 2010,[43] with a total price tag of $125 million.

[44] Ownership and maintenance of the former surface alignment of US 219 north of Peters Road—now known as Miller Road, and including the two-lane, high-level bridge that currently carries it across the valley surrounding Cattaraugus Creek—was transferred from the state of New York to Erie and Cattaraugus counties.

The latter half of the plan drew criticism from Erie County officials who believe that the state should continue to maintain the bridge due to its size, importance and the resulting cost of upkeep.

[48] On July 6, 2014, the New York State Department of Transportation announced the extension of the Western New York Southtowns Scenic Byway, a scenic byway through Erie County from Orchard Park to Springville,[49] into Cattaraugus County.

[10] Construction of the remainder of the freeway has been delayed by two major factors: the inability to obtain rights from the Seneca nation that would allow the highway to go through the Allegany Reservation,[52] and the lack of funding due to the state's financial woes.

Work on the proposed highway's environmental impact study was suspended indefinitely in June 2009 as a result of the latter.

[10][53] NYSDOT intends to resume work on the study when the state's financial situation improves and funding can be restored to the project.