U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for 237 miles (381 km) through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, New York, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region. The eastern terminus is at Route 3A in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Poughkeepsie (/pəˈkɪpsi/ pə-KIP-see) is a city in and is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is surrounded by the Town of Poughkeepsie and had a population of 31,577 at the 2020 census, while the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area has an estimated 712,000 residents. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson Valley region, midway between the core of the New York Metro Area and the state capital of Albany. It is served by the nearby Hudson Valley Regional Airport and Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York.
Poughkeepsie has been called "The Queen City of the Hudson". Originally part of New Netherland, it was settled in the 17th century by the Dutch and became New York State's second capital shortly after the American Revolution. It was chartered as a city in 1854. Major bridges in the city include the Walkway over the Hudson, a former railroad bridge which reopened as a public walkway in 2009; and the Mid-Hudson Bridge, a major thoroughfare built in 1930 that carries U.S. Route 44. The city of Poughkeepsie lies in New York's 18th congressional district.