Inner Loop (Rochester)

Inner Loop
Map of Rochester with the Inner Loop highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	2.68 mi[2] (4.31 km) Excludes portion overlapped with I-490
Existed:	1965[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-490 in Rochester
East end:	I-490 in Rochester
Location
Counties:	Monroe
Highway system
Numbered highways in New York Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County

The Inner Loop is an expressway that encloses downtown Rochester, New York, in the United States. Although the expressway is a continuous loop, only the portion of the loop north of Interstate 490 (I-490) is signed as the "Inner Loop". The official western terminus of the Inner Loop is at I-490 exit 13 in the shadow of Frontier Field west of downtown, while the eastern terminus is at I-490 exits 15 and 16 directly south of downtown on the east bank of the Genesee River. North of I-490, the loop is designated New York State Route 940T (NY 940T), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation. This segment, however, is visibly signed with unique orange trapezoidal shields with the words "Inner Loop" in white.

Construction of the Inner Loop began in the early 1950s—when the city's population was well over 300,000 and 33% higher than it was in 2000—and completed in 1965. Over the past decade, traffic volume has remained constant on the roadway in some areas; however, overall usage from its completion to today has declined as jobs and residents continue to migrate away from the inner city. Due to its shape and location, the Inner Loop is seen as a divider, both physically and mentally, between downtown and the rest of the city, one that defines a definite center for Rochester.

Route description

Inner Loop at State Street

The Inner Loop encircles downtown Rochester, beginning, from west to east, at I-490 exit 13, a directional T interchange adjacent to Frontier Field, the home of the Rochester Red Wings. It heads to the northeast, passing Frontier Field and the High Falls business district as it runs parallel to the CSX Transportation-owned Rochester Subdivision railroad line. About 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from I-490, the Inner Loop and the Rochester Subdivision both cross the Genesee River just south of where the river goes over High Falls. On the other side of the river, the highway turns toward the east, separating from the railroad a short distance southwest of Rochester's Amtrak station on Central Avenue. This is also the location of the first exit on the Inner Loop heading east—with Saint Paul Street and Clinton and Joseph Avenues—and is the beginning of the frontage roads that run parallel to the loop along its length.^[3]

East of Joseph Avenue, the route descends below grade-level and begins to run through a cut as it proceeds eastward across the northern edge of downtown. After passing under North Street, the Inner Loop begins to turn southward, connecting with both Scio and East Main Streets in the process. While the interchange with East Main Street is a right exit heading counterclockwise on the loop, it is a left exit heading clockwise, forcing the exit ramp to pass over the loop's counterclockwise lanes in order to reach Main Street. Past the Main Street overpass, the Inner Loop curves slightly to the southwest, running along the western edge of North Union Street. During this stretch, the highway connects to East Avenue (NY 96) and Broad Street. As the Inner Loop begins to pass The Strong, it turns one final time to the west, linking to Monroe (NY 31) and Clinton (NY 15) Avenues before rejoining I-490 at exits 15 (eastbound) and 16 (westbound).^[3]

The Inner Loop is closed and completed by I-490, creating a continuous beltway of limited-access highways around downtown Rochester. However, the I-490 portion of the loop is signed only as I-490, and the only section of the loop that is signed as the Inner Loop is the 2.68-mile (4.31 km) segment designated as the unsigned NY 940T.^[2] Due to its proximity to downtown, the loop creates a division, both physically and mentally, between downtown Rochester and the remainder of the city.^[1] The only areas where it is possible to traverse the Inner Loop is where roadways cross the Loop via bridges over or under the highway.^[3]

In 2011 the Rochester Contemporary Art Center held an exhibition called State of the City 2011: In The Loop which took Rochester’s unmistakable, often maligned, and nearly 50-year-old ring highway “The Inner Loop” as a departure point. The artists in the exhibition employed diverse methods such as traditional landscape painting, photo documentation, interactive video, and psychogeography to consider and discuss the history, present moment, and future of Downtown Rochester. This vital series of exhibitions continues to generate important discussions across the art community and foster productive collaborations between artists, cultural institutions, urban planning/architecture professionals and the general public in Upstate/Western NY. http://www.rochestercontemporary.org/state_11.html

History

Inner Loop east of Downtown

The idea for a beltway around Rochester was conceived in the 1950s. At the time, the population of Rochester was roughly 332,000, which translated into poor traffic conditions within downtown. Despite some political obstacles, construction on the highway began in the early 1950s. Many structures were demolished to make way for the route, which was constructed in a cut through the densely populated neighborhoods that surrounded downtown. In 1965, an opening ceremony headlined by then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller officially opened the Inner Loop to traffic. The final price tag on the loop's construction was $34 million^[1] (equivalent to $237 million in 2011).^[4] The southern part of the Loop was incorporated into the newly-constructed I-490 upon completion^[5] while the rest is designated as NY 940T, an unsigned reference route.^[2]

In the time since the Loop's construction, the population of Rochester has dropped to 219,773 as of the 2000 census—a reduction of a full one-third.^[6] As a result, traffic on the Inner Loop has declined accordingly. While traffic volume on the I-490 and northwestern portions of the loop have remained relatively high, the section east of the Genesee River has seen sharp declines in recent years.^[2][1] Proposals to alter this section of the Inner Loop have been presented, but none have been acted upon. One proposal in 2005, which had mounted merit for federal monetary aid, would have reduced the number of lanes on the loop between Clinton Avenue and Main Street to make room for additional shops and businesses on the streets adjacent to the Inner Loop.^[7] Another that was studied in 2009 called for the portion of the Loop from Main Street to Monroe Avenue (NY 31) to be completely filled in. The estimated cost of this project was $25 million. The findings of the studies were scheduled to be released in August 2009; however, no action, if any, is expected to be taken in the near future.^[1]

Exit list

The entire route is in Rochester, Monroe County.

Mile[2]	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0.00		I-490 west – Buffalo	I-490 joins CCW and leaves CW; Inner Loop CW takes exit 13 from I-490 west
0.38		State Street / North Plymouth Avenue	CCW exit and CW entrance
0.73		St. Paul Street / Clinton Avenue / Joseph Avenue – Downtown
1.01		Scio Street	CW exit and CCW entrance
1.17		East Main Street / University Avenue	No CW entrance
1.32		East Avenue (NY 96) / Broad Street	No CCW entrance
2.11		NY 31 (Monroe Avenue) / Clinton Avenue
2.33		NY 15 (Clinton Avenue) / South Avenue	CW exit and CCW exit
2.68		I-490 east	No CCW entrance; I-490 joins CW and leaves CCW; Inner Loop CCW takes exit 15 from I-490 east
	14	Broad Street / Plymouth Avenue	CW exit and CCW entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

New York Roads portal

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Axelbank, Evan (April 1, 2009). "The Inner Loop: Do We Need It?". RochesterHomepage.net (WROC and WUHF). http://www.rochesterhomepage.net/search-fulltext?nxd_id=81362. Retrieved April 3, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "2007 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 25, 2008. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT_Traffic_Data_Report_2007.pdf. Retrieved April 3, 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – overview map of the Inner Loop (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=h&lat=43.156605&lon=-77.607915&zoom=16&q1=43.154902%2C-77.620046&q2=43.160905%2C-77.597344&q3=43.151176%2C-77.606968. Retrieved November 6, 2010. 
4. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
5. ^ Mobil (1965). New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. 
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "New Road Ahead For Inner Loop". WHAM-TV (Rochester, New York). August 9, 2005. 

External links

• Alps' Roads – Inner Loop