New York State Route 47 (NY 47) was a long

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

around

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in the United States. It formed a semicircle through the inner

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s of Rochester, following expressways west and east of the city and surface streets south of Rochester. The western terminus of the route was at an interchange with NY 104 west of the city limits in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The eastern terminus was at an intersection with Culver Road in

Irondequoit Irondequoit is a town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of 2019, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 50,055. Irondequoit is a suburb of the city of Rochester, lying just north and east o ...

close to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In between its western and eastern extents, NY 47 met Interstate 490 (I-490) twice. The

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

portions of the route were known as the Rochester Outer Loop (or Outer Loop) in contrast to the

Inner Loop Inner loop may refer to: *Inner loop in computer programs *Inner Loop (Phoenix), a section of Interstate 10 in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States *Inner Loop (Rochester), an expressway around downtown Rochester, New York, United States * Inne ...

around downtown Rochester. NY 47 was originally routed along surface streets through the city when it was assigned . It began at

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 ea ...

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 McFadde ...

and followed Howard Road and Brooks Avenue southeast into Rochester, where it continued eastward on Genesee Park Boulevard and Elmwood Avenue. NY 47 remained on the latter through

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

to an area known as Twelve Corners. At this point, the route turned north onto Winton Road and followed that street through the eastern fringe of the city to Irondequoit, where NY 47 ended at a junction with U.S. Route 104 (US 104, now NY 404). The Outer Loop was constructed in stages, beginning with the portion of the

Sea Breeze Expressway New York State Route 590 (NY 590) is a north–south state highway located in the eastern suburbs of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The route is a limited-access northward extension of Interstate 590 (I-590) that begi ...

north of Ridge Road in the early 1950s. From that point on, construction progressed in a generally clockwise fashion around the city. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Outer Loop was complete from NY 383 to US 104 west of the city and from modern I-590 exit 1 to the lakeshore east of Rochester. NY 47 followed the loop from US 104 south to NY 383 and from Elmwood Avenue north to modern NY 590 exit 8; north of that point, the expressway was part of US 104 and

NY 18 New York State Route 18 (NY 18) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the south shore of Lake Ontario for most of its length between Niagara County and Monroe County. NY 18, ...

. NY 47 was extended northward along the remainder of the Sea Breeze Expressway in 1970. On March 18, 1980, the NY 47 designation was removed and replaced with several others, primarily I-390, I-590, NY 390, and NY 590.

Route description

NY 47 followed a half-circle routing around the city of

, beginning northwest of downtown in the town of

and proceeding generally counterclockwise around the city before ending northeast of downtown at the

shoreline in

. The

portions of NY 47 were named the "Rochester Outer Loop" (or "Outer Loop") in contrast to the

around downtown Rochester. This moniker remains in use to this day, now referring to the designations that have since replaced NY 47 along the loop. Conceptually, NY 104 completes the Outer Loop along the north side of the city. However, only the section east of the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

is expressway, leaving NY 104 from modern NY 390 to the Veterans Memorial Bridge as the only at-grade portion of the loop. The at-grade portion of NY 47 along Scottsville Road and Elmwood Avenue was known as the "Rochester Bypass" prior to the completion of the Outer Loop. The alignment described within this section is of NY 47 upon its removal in 1980.

Western expressway

NY 47 began at an interchange with NY 104 (now the interchange between NY 390 and NY 104) in Greece one mile (1.6 km) west of the Rochester city limits. Although, at the time, the freeway terminated just north of the interchange, the interchange itself was roughly complete, with only ramps to and from future NY 390 north of the interchange missing. NY 47 followed the modern NY 390 alignment south to I-490, where NY 47 continued onto what is now I-390. The routings of NY 47 and current I-390 were identical to NY 383 (Scottsville Road) in Chili, where NY 47 was forced to grade level via a partially constructed interchange, as modern I-390 had yet to be constructed in the area southeast of NY 383.

At-grade

Off the expressway and now at-grade, NY 47 turned north onto NY 383, forming a short

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with NY 383 into Rochester. At Elmwood Avenue, NY 47 and NY 383 departed Scottsville Road and proceeded eastward on Elmwood Avenue. Two blocks to the east, at an intersection with South Plymouth Avenue, NY 383 split from NY 47, following Plymouth Avenue into downtown Rochester. NY 47 remained routed on Elmwood Avenue, crossing the

and passing north of

Strong Memorial Hospital Strong Memorial Hospital (SMH) is an 886-bed medical facility, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center complex (abbreviated URMC), in Rochester, New York, United States. Opened in 1926, it is a major provider of both in-patient and out ...

prior to intersecting

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 Wayl ...

(Mount Hope Avenue) in the shadow of Mount Hope Cemetery. East of NY 15, NY 47 progressed along Elmwood Avenue, intersecting several local streets before entering

. Within Brighton, NY 47 continued on Elmwood Avenue through "Twelve Corners", intersecting

(Monroe Avenue) at the location, to what is now I-590. At the northbound entrance ramp of the modern interchange between I-590 and Elmwood Avenue, NY 47 separated from the latter, entering the freeway. While what is now I-590 was constructed and open from Winton Road to I-490, it had no signed designation between Winton and Elmwood.

Eastern expressway

NY 47 followed modern I-590 northward through Brighton to the

Can of Worms Can of worms is an idiom referring to a slew of subsequent problems and dilemmas arising from a decision or action. The phrase may also refer to: Transportation * Can of Worms (interchange) in Rochester, New York * Can of Worms (Minnesota interc ...

, where NY 47 met I-490 for the second time. Due to the way the interchange was designed at the time, traffic continuing on NY 47 across I-490 had to merge with I-490 traffic for roughly before exiting I-490 onto the other portion of NY 47. North of I-490, NY 47 followed the length of what is now NY 590 through Brighton, Rochester, and Irondequoit to Culver Road at the Lake Ontario shoreline.

History

Original alignment

Expressway realignments

East of Rochester

I-490

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

East Ridge Road

and largely became part of a rerouted NY 47 by the following year. At the time, NY 47 left the expressway at Blossom Road and followed it west to Winton Road, where it rejoined its original routing. NY 96 at former NY 47

By 1964, construction was underway on a new expressway leading south from I-490 at the

to Elmwood Avenue east of Twelve Corners. The highway was completed , at which time NY 47 was realigned to follow the Sea Breeze Expressway and the new expressway south through the Can of Worms to its end at a partial interchange with Elmwood Avenue (now I-590 exit 3). It continued west on Elmwood Avenue to Twelve Corners, where it reconnected to its old alignment at Winton Road.

West of Rochester

The first realignment of NY 47 west of the city occurred when it was rerouted between Chili and Elmwood Avenues to bypass the then-

Rochester–Monroe County Airport Frederick Douglass - Greater Rochester International Airport is a public airport located within the City of Rochester, three miles (6 km) southwest of Downtown, in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is owned and operated by Monro ...

to the south. Instead of turning east onto Brooks Avenue as it did prior to 1962, the route continued south on Beahan Road to Scottsville Road ( NY 383), where it turned to

overlap Overlap may refer to: * In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram. * In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases * Ove ...

NY 383 north to Elmwood Avenue. At the time, Beahan Road connected directly to Scottsville Road (via modern Old Beahan Road) as the primary

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

southwest of the airport had yet to be extended to its present length. By 1962, construction was underway on a new limited-access highway paralleling NY 47 (Howard Road) to the east between NY 31 and NY 33. Within two years, work had begun on an extension of the highway south along 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 navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

to Scottsville Road. Farther east, construction was underway on a new highway leading south from I-490 to Elmwood Avenue east of Twelve Corners. NY 47 reference marker on NY 590

All of the limited-access highway between NY 31 and NY 383 opened to traffic . NY 47 was reconfigured to begin a half-mile (0.8 km) to the east of Howard Road at modern NY 390 exit 21 and follow the new highway southeastward to its temporary end at what is now I-390 exit 17 east of the airport. At this point, NY 47 joined its pre-1965 routing and followed NY 383 northeastward into the city limits. By 1968, construction was underway on a northward extension of the expressway to US 104 in

. It was completed and opened to traffic by 1971.

Extensions and deletion

NY 47 was officially extended on both ends on January 1, 1970, to terminate at

on opposite sides of Rochester. In Greece, the designation officially followed what is now NY 390 north to the

Lake Ontario State Parkway The Lake Ontario State Parkway is a parkway along the southern shore of Lake Ontario in Western New York in the United States. The western end of the highway is at a partial interchange within Lakeside Beach State Park in Carlton, Orleans County ...

; however, the portion between US 104 and the parkway had yet to be constructed. To the east in Irondequoit, NY 47 was stretched northward along the Sea Breeze Expressway to Culver Road, resulting in overlaps with both US 104 and NY 18. At the time, the overlap with US 104 existed only between Empire Boulevard and the

Keeler Street Expressway New York State Route 104 (NY 104) is a east–west state highway in Upstate New York in the United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it follow ...

, which became the new alignment of the route through Irondequoit after its completion in 1969.

National Bridge Inventory The National Bridge Inventory (NBI) is a database, compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, with information on all bridges and tunnels in the United States that have roads passing above or below them. That is similar to the grade-crossing ...

, a database compiled by the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

, available at www.nationalbridges.com. Accessed December 9, 2007. The overlap with US 104 was eliminated entirely the following year when that route was realigned onto a new expressway alignment between NY 47 and

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that traversed

Irondequoit Bay Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end. On average, the surface of I ...

via the newly built

Irondequoit Bay Bridge The Irondequoit Bay Bridge is a continuous truss bridge spanning Irondequoit Bay in eastern Monroe County, New York, in the United States. It is wide and carries the six-lane New York State Route 104 (NY 104) from the town of Irondequoi ...

. The overlap with NY 18 was eliminated when NY 18 was truncated to its current eastern terminus in

Kodak Park Eastman Business Park, formerly Kodak Park, is a large manufacturing and industrial complex in the city of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The complex is run by Eastman Kodak and is located north of downtown Rochester and south of L ...

On March 18, 1980, the NY 47 designation was eliminated and split into four other routes. From NY 104 in Greece to I-490, NY 47 became NY 390. The section from I-490 south to NY 383 was designated as part of I-390; however, it would not connect to the existing portion of I-390 south of Rochester until 1981, when the interchange between I-390 and I-590 was completed. The segment of NY 47 from Elmwood Avenue north to the Can of Worms became part of I-590, which continued southwest along the freeway to Winton Road. From the Can of Worms to Lake Ontario, NY 47 was redesignated NY 590. Off the expressways, the former alignments of NY 47 now carry several designations. Howard Road, bypassed by the 1960s realignment in Gates, is still maintained by the

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in ...

as NY 940L, an unsigned reference route in length. Beahan Road, also bypassed by the same 1960s rerouting, was reconfigured into its current alignment by 1971 due to an expansion by the airport. The section of Beahan Road that carried NY 47 is currently maintained by

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

as part of County Route 164 (CR 164), the county's

unsigned Unsigned can refer to: * An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label ** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists ** Unsigned band web, online community * Similarly, the c ...

designation for all of Beahan Road. The portion of NY 47 on Elmwood Avenue from the Rochester city line to I-590 is also maintained by Monroe County as part of CR 87. Lastly, the segments of Winton Road outside of the Rochester city limits are now part of CR 98. The remainder of NY 47 and the former alignments of the route are currently locally maintained.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York State Route 047 047 Transportation in Monroe County, New York