Interstate 490 (New York)
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Interstate 490 (I-490) is an
auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a subset of highways within the United States' Interstate Highway System. The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes, which connect to or i ...
that serves the city of
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, in the United States. It acts as a northerly alternate route to the
New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
(
I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
), leaving it at exit 47 in the town of Le Roy and rejoining the highway at exit 45 in the town of Victor to the east. I-490 connects with I-390 and New York State Route 390 (NY 390) on the western side of Rochester and I-590 and NY 590 on the east side of the city at an interchange known as the Can of Worms. The highway comprises the southernmost portion of the
Inner Loop In computer programs, an important form of control flow is the Loop (computing), loop which causes a block of code to be executed more than once. A common idiom is to have a loop Nested loop, nested inside another loop, with the contained loop be ...
, a beltway around the interior of Rochester. Outside the city, I-490 serves several suburban villages, such as Churchville and Pittsford. The eastern half of the freeway, named the Eastern Expressway, was built in stages from the 1950s to the 1970s as a connector between the Inner Loop and the thruway, and the section west of the Inner Loop and
Downtown Rochester Downtown Rochester is the economic center of Rochester, New York, and the 2nd largest in Upstate New York, employing more than 50,000 people, and housing more than 6,000. History Rochesterville, as it was once called, was founded in present day ...
to I-90 in Le Roy is known as the Western Expressway. From Downtown Rochester to the Can of Worms, it follows the former
right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...
of the Rochester subway and, before it, the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
. The section west of the Inner Loop was mostly built during the 1960s and completed in the early 1970s. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the portion of the Eastern Expressway from what is now the Can of Worms east to Bushnell's Basin was originally designated as part of
NY 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with I-86 in the Southern Tier village ...
. That route was moved back onto its parallel surface routing when I-490 was assigned to the entirety of the then-proposed Le Roy–Victor freeway.


Route description

Heading northeast from exit 47 of the
New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
(
I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
), I-490 passes through rural portions of eastern Genesee County and western Monroe County, skirting the villages of
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
and Churchville. Gradually, the expressway takes a more easterly alignment near exit 3 before returning to the northeast at exit 4. At exit 6, I-490 intersects the Airport Expressway ( NY 204). Past this interchange, I-490 heads due north, connecting to NY 33 and NY 531 before returning east. Prior to crossing the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
, I-490 meets NY 390 and I-390. Beyond the junction lies the canal and the city of Rochester. Between the Mount Read Boulevard interchange at exit 10 and the
Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...
, I-490 is referred to as the "Western Gateway". This section, which saw major decorative and structural improvements in the late 2000s, travels due east through heavily residential neighborhoods before turning to the southeast near
Innovative Field Innovative Field (originally known as Frontier Field) is a baseball stadium at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened in 1996 ...
and a junction with the
Inner Loop In computer programs, an important form of control flow is the Loop (computing), loop which causes a block of code to be executed more than once. A common idiom is to have a loop Nested loop, nested inside another loop, with the contained loop be ...
at exit 13. Just west of this point, I-490 passes over West Broad Street (
NY 31 New York State Route 31 (NY 31) is a state highway that extends for across western and central New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 104 in the city of Niagara Falls. Its ...
) and close to the former Rochester terminal of the
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway The Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway was one of the more than ten thousand Railway company, railroad companies founded in North America. It lasted much longer than most, serving communities from the Charlotte, Rochester, New York, shor ...
, which now houses
Nick Tahou Hots Nick Tahou Hots is a restaurant in Rochester, New York, best known for a dish called the Garbage Plate.Mitzewich, John.The Famous Garbage Plate of Rochester, New York". americanfood.about.com. Retrieved on August 31, 2008. The restaurant was f ...
. I-490 now becomes part of the Inner Loop as it passes just south of the city center and heads toward the Genesee River. I-490 crosses both the river and NY 383 by way of the
Frederick Douglass–Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge The Frederick Douglass–Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge (informally called the Freddie-Sue Bridge and known as the Troup–Howell Bridge until July 13, 2007) is a triple steel arch bridge carrying Interstate 490 (New York), Interstate&nb ...
and connects to
NY 15 New York State Route 15 (NY 15) is a north–south state highway located in western New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is officially at Interstate 390 (I-390) exit 3 south of the village of W ...
before leaving the Inner Loop and turning south and east to follow the former pathway of the Erie Canal and the Rochester subway through the east side of the city. Along this stretch, I-490 connects to NY 31 (now part of Monroe Avenue) and passes north of Cobbs Hill Reservoir and the surrounding Cobbs Hill Park. I-490 continues to run in the former bed until exit 21, where I-490 connects to NY 590 and I-590 at an interchange known locally as the Can of Worms. At this point, the former Erie Canal route (now part of I-590) curves southward while I-490 continues eastward into the eastern suburbs of Rochester. Between exits 21 and 24, I-490 parallels the
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
-owned
Rochester Subdivision The Rochester Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Solvay, New York, west to Churchville, New York, along the former New York Central Railroad water level route. At its eas ...
rail line, intersecting NY 441, a four-lane divided highway in the process. South of exit 25, I-490 traverses the southeastern suburbs of Rochester, passing close to East Rochester, Pittsford, and Bushnell's Basin and closely paralleling
NY 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with I-86 in the Southern Tier village ...
on its way toward the Ontario County line. The freeway meets NY 96 twice in
Perinton Perinton (originally Perrinton (in federal censuses) and sometimes Perrington when still part of Ontario County) is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 47,479 at the 2020 census. The village of Fairport is wit ...
and a third time in the Ontario County town of Victor, where I-490 passes along the western fringe of
Eastview Mall Eastview Mall, located in Victor, New York (near Rochester, New York), is a regional indoor shopping center owned and managed by Wilmorite Properties. The mall features JCPenney, Macy's, Von Maur, and Dick's House of Sport. Eastview is locate ...
. I-490 ends a short distance southeast of the third NY 96 interchange at Thruway exit 45.


History

The portion of I-490 from exit 15 southeast to the Can of Worms follows the original path of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
through the city of Rochester. After the canal was rerouted to bypass Rochester in 1920, the former canal bed was purchased by the city for roughly $1.5 million (equivalent to $ in ). Plans drawn up by the city in the early 1910s called for a highway to be built in the old canal bed; however, subsequent proposals leaned toward repurposing the bed as a rapid transit system instead. The Rochester subway, as it became known, began operation in 1927. As ridership on the line declined in the 1940s and early 1950s, the city elected to shut the subway down in 1956 and use the
right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...
for a new highway connecting the
Inner Loop In computer programs, an important form of control flow is the Loop (computing), loop which causes a block of code to be executed more than once. A common idiom is to have a loop Nested loop, nested inside another loop, with the contained loop be ...
to the recently completed
New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
south of Rochester. Construction of the Eastern Expressway, a
limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...
connecting the Inner Loop to the thruway in Victor, began in the early 1950s with the first section extending from
NY 96 New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with I-86 in the Southern Tier village ...
in Bushnell's Basin to NY 31F near East Rochester. It was completed by 1956 and originally designated as part of NY 96. An extension northwest to the present site of the Can of Worms was opened to traffic by the following year. The expressway remained part of NY 96 until when it was designated as part of I-490, a proposed route extending westward through Downtown Rochester and southwestward through the western suburbs to Thruway exit 47 in Le Roy. The portion of the highway between the
Inner Loop In computer programs, an important form of control flow is the Loop (computing), loop which causes a block of code to be executed more than once. A common idiom is to have a loop Nested loop, nested inside another loop, with the contained loop be ...
and Winton Road was completed in the old subway cut by this time, while the segment between Winton Road and the Can of Worms was opened . Work on the portion of I-490 west of the Inner Loop began and initially extended from NY 259 in Chili to Mount Read Boulevard west of downtown. This section was completed by the following year. The remainder of the freeway west of Rochester was opened to traffic as far west as
NY 36 New York State Route 36 (NY 36) is a north–south state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The highway extends for from the Pennsylvania state line at Troupsburg, Steuben County northward to Ogden, Mon ...
near Churchville and finished by 1968. The last two gaps in the freeway—from Mount Read Boulevard east to the Inner Loop in Rochester and from Bushnell's Basin southeast to the thruway in Pittsford and Victor—were filled in the early 1970s. I-490 formerly had two sets of
rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...
s, one in Victor and one in Churchville. The Churchville pair, located east of exit 3, were closed on July 18, 1990, after numerous complaints about sexual activity in the area. The ones in Victor, west of the thruway interchange, were closed on November 1, 1990, for the winter as a temporary cost-saving measure. The
New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation'' (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit sys ...
decided in June 1991 to make these closures permanent to save on costs. The planned construction of the Inner Loop (now part of I-490) through the Corn Hill district of Downtown Rochester just west of the
Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...
was the driving factor that led the
Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
(RIT) to relocate to its present location in
Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Hen ...
in 1968. The plan called for the demolition of a number of RIT buildings and would have resulted in splitting the campus into two halves separated by the new freeway. The portion of I-490 from exit 9 ( I-390 and NY 390) in
Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadd ...
to exit 27 (NY 96) in
Perinton Perinton (originally Perrinton (in federal censuses) and sometimes Perrington when still part of Ontario County) is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 47,479 at the 2020 census. The village of Fairport is wit ...
was ceremoniously designated as the "Erie Canal Expressway" by the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
on August 16, 2005.


Exit list


See also

*


References


External links

{{3di, 90 90-4 New York 90-4 4 (New York) Transportation in Rochester, New York Transportation in Genesee County, New York Transportation in Ontario County, New York Transportation in Monroe County, New York
490 Year 490 ( CDXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustus and Longinus (or, less frequently, year 1243 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 490 for this ...