Inner Loop (Rochester) - Route Description

Route Description

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.

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).

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. Due to its proximity to downtown, the loop creates a division, both physically and mentally, between downtown Rochester and the remainder of the city. 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.