The New York State Thruway Authority maintains 641 miles of roadway. This includes the 496-mile long Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, the longest toll superhighway system in the United States. With the construction of the Thruway, Governor Dewey’s vision of a cross-State highway became a reality. This mainline provides the 426-mile connection between the State’s two largest cities, New York City and Buffalo, before extending westward to the Pennsylvania State Line at Ripley. The Thruway is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority, an independent public corporation created in 1950 by the New York State Legislature. The Authority was established to build, operate and maintain the system as a self-liquidating project financed through bonds being retired from proceeds of tolls and other income. No state tax dollars are used to operate and maintain the Thruway System; it is a user-fee supported highway.