U.S. Route 20A (US 20A) is an east–west

alternate route An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various stat ...

of US 20 that extends for across the western portion of

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

in the United States. It leaves US 20 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, and rejoins it in East Bloomfield about west of

Canandaigua Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, the county seat of Ontario County. The western terminus is situated just northeast of the intersection of US 20 and US 62 and west of

Highmark Stadium Highmark Stadium may refer to: * Highmark Stadium (New York) Highmark Stadium (also known colloquially as The Ralph) is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, United States, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. I ...

. At its east end, US 20A also meets New York State Route 5 (NY 5) and NY 64. Most of the route is known as Big Tree Road; outside Highmark Stadium, the highway is known as the Timothy J. Russert Highway in memory of Buffalo native

Tim Russert Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's '' Meet the Press''. He was a senior vice president at NBC News a ...

. While the main line of US 20 takes a direct path between Hamburg, Buffalo, and East Bloomfield via Avon, US 20A veers to the south to serve several villages and

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

s, including the villages of Geneseo and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The town of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

, famous for the

Attica Prison riot The Attica Prison riot took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison uprisings. Of the 43 men who di ...

of 1971, lies between US 20 and US 20A. As the route heads east, US 20A connects to several north–south freeways, such as NY 400 outside of East Aurora and

Interstate 390 Interstate 390 (I-390) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway located entirely within New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86 and New York State Route 17, or NY&nb ...

(I-390) between Geneseo and Lakeville. Outside of the communities that dot the highway, US 20A is a two-lane, rural highway. The highway carried several designations prior to becoming US 20A . In the mid-1920s, the section of modern US 20A from East Aurora to Lakeville was part of New York State Route 35 (NY 35). US 20 was first signed in New York in 1927, occupying the piece of NY 35 between East Aurora and Geneseo and all of what is now US 20A west of East Aurora upon assignment. It was altered to also use the Geneseo–Lakeville section of former NY 35 in the early 1930s. At the time, the section of current US 20A between US 20 and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

was designated as NY 254. US 20 was realigned onto its current alignment between Hamburg and Avon , and US 20A was assigned to US 20's former routing west of Lakeville and all of NY 254 by the following year.

Route description

Buffalo area

US 20A separates from US 20 just northeast of an intersection locally known as "Seven Corners" in the town of

. The route heads east through the

suburbs on Big Tree Road, entering the town of Orchard Park and passing south of the southern campus of

SUNY Erie SUNY Erie is a Public college, public community colleges in the United States, community college with three campuses in western New York (state), New York that serve residents in and near Erie County, New York, Erie County. It is part of the St ...

. At Abbott Road, US 20A becomes the "Timothy J. Russert Highway", named for

native

. The route continues on, passing south of

before changing back to Big Tree Road at California Road. Not far to the east, US 20A meets US 219 ( Southern Expressway) at an interchange. Past US 219, the route enters the village of Orchard Park, becoming Quaker Street and intersecting the

concurrent 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 ...

routes of NY 240 and

NY 277 New York State Route 277 (NY 277) is a state highway in New York in the United States. This highway is also called Union Road, along with other names. NY 277 is a major north–south road east of Buffalo, New York, through t ...

in the center of the community. US 20A east in Orchard Park NY

Outside of the village, US 20A becomes Quaker Road, passing through slightly less developed areas as it progresses eastward. Midway between Orchard Park village and East Aurora, US 20A intersects the southern terminus of NY 187 (Transit Road) at the Orchard Park–

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

town line. Transit Road, however, continues south for as County Route 553 (CR 553). Farther east, US 20A runs south of

Cazenovia Creek Cazenovia Creek is a creek in Western New York, United States. It is a tributary of the Buffalo River, which empties into Lake Erie. Cazenovia Creek and its watershed are entirely within Erie County. Course Cazenovia Creek is formed from its two ...

for across open terrain prior to crossing the creek and entering the densely populated village of East Aurora. The route enters East Aurora on Hamburg Street, running parallel to a branch of Cazenovia Creek for a half-mile () to Buffalo Street. Here, US 20A meets the overlapping routes of NY 16 and NY 78 at a

traffic circle A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

in the village's primary business district. The three routes come together, becoming Main Street and passing by the Fillmore House as it proceeds through the center of the village. At Olean Street, east of the circle in East Aurora's central business district, NY 16 turns right, continuing south toward

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. US 20A and NY 78 remain concurrent as they exit the village and meet NY 400 (Aurora Expressway) on the eastern edge.

East Aurora to Warsaw

East of NY 400, US 20A and NY 78 become Big Tree Road once more as the highway leaves the Buffalo suburbs and passes through the rural eastern portion of Erie County. Near the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

hamlet of Wales Center, NY 78 departs US 20A on Strykersville Road, ending the overlap. In Wales Center itself, US 20A intersects Four Rod Road, once designated as NY 358 and now part of CR 356. Past the hamlet, US 20A deviates from its linear east–west alignment, swerving to the south on a newer routing of Big Tree Road before reuniting with its original routing to the east. ahead, US 20A exits Erie County and enters the equally rural Wyoming County town of Sheldon. Warning diagram on US 20A NY

In Sheldon, US 20A intersects NY 77 near Sheldon Center and

NY 98 New York State Route 98 (NY 98) is a state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in the town of Great Valley in ...

in Varysburg, forming a concurrency with the latter into the adjacent town of Orangeville. Upon crossing the town line, the two routes split, with NY 98 proceeding southwest to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. US 20A continues southeast from NY 98 on a linear alignment, intersecting the southern terminus of NY 238 at Halls Corner, a small hamlet located near the Orangeville–

town line. Shortly after passing NY 238, US 20A makes a turn to the east as it enters Warsaw. Roughly from the town line, US 20A descends into the Oatka Valley, a large ravine containing

Oatka Creek Oatka Creek ( ) is the third longest tributary of the Genesee River, located entirely in the Western New York region of the U.S. state of New York. From southern Wyoming County, New York, Wyoming County, it flows to the Genesee near Scottsville, ...

and the entirety of the

. Now named Buffalo Street, US 20A heads east–west across the village, intersecting

NY 19 New York State Route 19 (NY 19) is a north–south state highway in Western New York in the United States. It is the longest state highway in that region, and the only other one besides NY 14 to completely transect the sta ...

, one of two state routes to directly connect

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 (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

with the Pennsylvania state line, at the center of Warsaw. Past the NY 19 junction, US 20A continues east along Buffalo Street to the eastern edge of the village and the valley, where the route turns a full 90 degrees to the north to climb the side of the Oatka Valley. The route ascends approximately , passing under the

Rochester and Southern Railroad The Rochester and Southern Railroad , a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., is a class III shortline that runs from the city of Rochester in Monroe County to Silver Springs, NY. The RSR started in 1986, when the B&O sold off its Buffalo a ...

(RSR)—which runs along the foot of the gorge—before exiting the valley and returning to an east–west alignment as it heads toward

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

and points east. All oversize trucks are prohibited from using the section of US 20A between NY 19 and Minor Road at the top of the valley due to the steep grade of the hill and the sharp curve at the bottom.

Warsaw to Geneseo

Outside of the Oatka Valley, US 20A heads east through the remainder of the town of Warsaw prior to entering the town of Perry. The route serves Perry–Warsaw Airport on its way to Perry Center, a small hamlet situated directly north of the village of

, where US 20A intersects NY 246. The portion of US 20A in Perry is otherwise uneventful, and the route quietly passes into the Livingston County town of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

later. After another of rural surroundings, US 20A meets NY 39 at a junction approximately southwest of the village of

. The two routes converge, following Leicester Road northeast to the village, where the highway's name shifts to Main Street upon entering the village limits. US 20A-NY 39 in Geneseo

East of a

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...

with the

Genesee and Wyoming Railroad The Genesee and Wyoming Railroad was a flagship short-line railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The G&W Railroad was the small Western NY salt-hauling railroad that ran between Retsof, New York, and Caledonia, New York, only long, and ...

subdivision of the RSR, US 20A and NY 39 connect to

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 ...

at York Road. NY 36 briefly overlaps with US 20A and NY 39 for one block before heading to the south via Mount Morris Road at the village center. US 20A and NY 39 continue on, leaving Leicester on as Cuylerville Road, named for the community located directly northeast of Leicester. The routes pass in and out of Cuylerville and head eastward into a wide valley, crossing Beards Creek 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 ...

. At the eastern bank of the latter, the highway crosses into the town of Geneseo. On the other side of the Genesee River, US 20A and NY 39 rise in elevation once more as they head to the northeast, climbing the eastern edge of the gully to meet NY 63 at the valley's eastern edge. After a brief concurrency with US 20A and NY 39, NY 63 splits off to the west, running alongside the western edge of the nearby

State University of New York at Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is New York's public honors college and part of the State University ...

campus. In contrast, US 20A and NY 39 form a portion of the eastern edge of the campus between NY 63 and

Mary Jemison Mary Jemison (''Deh-he-wä-nis'') (1743 – September 19, 1833) was a Scots-Irish colonial frontierswoman in Pennsylvania and New York, who became known as the "White Woman of the Genesee." As a young girl, she was captured and adopted into a S ...

Drive in the village of Geneseo. At the latter intersection, US 20A and NY 39 turn east onto South Street. After just one block, the US 20A/NY 39 overlap comes to an end as NY 39 follows Main Street north out of Geneseo toward Avon. US 20A continues east through Geneseo before taking on a more northeasterly alignment outside of the village. At this point, the highway becomes Lakeville Road for the

Conesus Lake Conesus Lake is located in Livingston County, New York. Conesus Lake is one of New York's twelve Finger Lakes. It is located off Interstate 390 about south of Interstate 90. Description Conesus Lake is long, with a maximum depth of . I ...

community to the northeast. The route proceeds across open terrain to the western outskirts of Lakeville, where US 20A connects to I-390 at exit 8. Past the expressway, US 20A continues on a northeast alignment—albeit more eastern than northern—as it intersects NY 256 and enters both the town of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

and the hamlet of Lakeville.

Finger Lakes

As Big Tree Road once more, US 20A acts as the major east–west thoroughfare for Lakeville, connecting the hamlet to I-390 in the west to the village of

to the east. In the center of Lakeville, US 20A intersects the north–south

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 ...

. The two routes converge on Big Tree Road, following the roadway around the northern tip of Conesus Lake and southeastward through the rural landscape between Lakeville and Livonia. In Livonia, Big Tree Road continues to the southeast as Big Tree Street; however, US 20A and NY 15 leave Big Tree Road to follow Main Street instead. NY 15 remains on US 20A for one more block to the center of Livonia, at which point it continues southward on Commercial Street toward Conesus while US 20A heads east on Main Street and out of the village as Richmond Mills Road. For the next , US 20A loosely parallels Big Tree Road, located about to the south. At a rural junction known as Bosley Corner, US 20A merges with the north–south NY 15A and follows NY 15A south toward the hamlet of Hemlock. While concurrent with NY 15A, US 20A crosses Big Tree Road at the midpoint of the concurrency. The two routes proceed through Hemlock before splitting south of the community. Here, US 20A breaks from NY 15A and continues east on Honeoye Road into the Ontario County town of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. About into the sparsely developed town, US 20A reconnects to Big Tree Road at Curtis Corner. The route, however, becomes Main Street for the hamlet of Honeoye a short distance to the east. US 20A runs east–west through the small yet highly developed community, crossing

Honeoye Creek Honeoye Creek ( )Honeoye Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
''honeoyelakechamber.org'', accessed March 16, 201 ...

and passing north of

Honeoye Lake Honeoye Lake ( ) is one of the Finger Lakes located in Ontario County, New York, Ontario County, New York (state), New York. Most of the lake is within the town of Richmond, New York, Richmond but a smaller southwestern part is in the town of C ...

. It leaves the hamlet soon after, turning to the northeast and traversing a series of small hills as it passes into the town of

as Honeoye Road once again. Roughly from the town line, US 20A intersects NY 64 in the

Bristol Valley Bristol Mountain, formally known as Bristol Mountain Winter Resort, is a ski resort located in South Bristol, New York, in the Finger Lakes region. It is located from the center of Rochester, New York, the nearest major city to the resort, and a ...

. US 20A turns north onto NY 64, following the state route out of the valley and into the town of East Bloomfield, where US 20A ends later at an intersection with US 20 and NY 5. The section of US 20A that overlaps NY 64 was signed north–south, matching NY 64's direction, however, the US 20A north–south tabs were replaced by east–west tabs between 2010 and 2012, but still the north–south tabs are now for NY 64 shields only. NY 64 continues west from the junction on US 20 and NY 5.

History

Origins and designation

In 1908, 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 ...

established a statewide

legislative route In the United States, a legislative route (LR) or legislative highway is a highway defined by law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise d ...

system that initially consisted of 37 unsigned routes. The portion of what is now US 20A between Four Rod Road in

and

in Sheldon was included in Route 19, a highway that extended from

to Batavia. Two smaller segments of modern US 20A—the sections

to NY 16 in East Aurora and NY 64 in Ontario County—became part of Route 17 and Route 14, respectively. When the first set of posted routes in

were assigned in 1924, the entirety of legislative Route 17 was designated as part of NY 16 while the portion of modern US 20A between Lakeville and

became part of NY 4. By 1926, the section of what is now US 20A between NY 16 in East Aurora and NY 4 in Lakeville was designated as part of NY 35, which initially continued northwest to Buffalo by way of an overlap with NY 16 and followed NY 4 north from Lakeville to

NY 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syra ...

in East Avon. US 20A at NY 15A S of Hemlock

NY 35 was largely replaced by US 20 when U.S. Highways were first signed in New York in 1927. At the time, US 20 entered the Buffalo area on modern NY 5 and followed Big Tree Road and current US 20A east to East Aurora, where it overlapped NY 16 to reach the former routing of NY 35. From there, it continued east over former NY 35 to Geneseo before proceeding to Avon on modern NY 39. Meanwhile, NY 4 was renumbered to NY 2 to eliminate numerical duplication with the new US 4 in the

Capital District A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...

. The portion of former NY 35 between Geneseo and Lakeville went unnumbered until the 1930 state highway renumbering when it became the westernmost portion of NY 254, an east–west highway that initially extended eastward along modern US 20A and CR 32 to a junction with NY 21 west of

. NY 254 was truncated westward to NY 64 in

by the following year. US 20 was realigned between Geneseo and East Avon to follow NY 254 east to Lakeville, where it turned north to follow NY 2 to East Avon. NY 254 was truncated to the east end of its former overlap with NY 2 in

as a result while US 20's former routing between Geneseo and Avon became NY 20D. US 20 was altered again to follow its modern alignment between

and East Avon. Its former routing between Hamburg and Geneseo became part of the new NY 20A, which also continued north to Avon over NY 20D. The remainder of US 20's old routing between Geneseo and Lakeville became part of a reextended NY 254. US 20A was established by the following year, replacing NY 20A west of Geneseo and NY 254 from Geneseo to Bristol. The new highway also followed NY 64 northward to East Bloomfield in order to rejoin US 20 in the

of South Bloomfield. NY 254 was reassigned to the Geneseo–Avon portion of NY 20A; however, it was supplanted by an extended NY 39 .

Other developments

On the morning of March 12, 1994, a large section of the roof in the southern end of the Retsof Salt Mine collapsed. The collapsed portion of the mine was located near the hamlet of Cuylerville, located on US 20A just south of the mine. One day before the collapse, warning signs were erected at the bridge carrying US 20A over nearby Beards Creek due to the presence of bumps in the pavement along the bridge approaches. Over the next few weeks, two large sinkholes opened on the surface above the mine, one of them located just south of the US 20A bridge over Beards Creek. This sinkhole led to the collapse of a small area of US 20A east of the creek and the closure and, ultimately, collapse of the bridge over the creek. As a result, a detour was installed between

and Geneseo. No construction was done on the area for a number of years while a court battle was fought over whether Retsof should reimburse 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 ...

to fix the road. The road and new bridge were fixed and reopened in the late 1990s. On June 18, 2008, a bill seeking to rename the part of US 20A from Abbott Road to California Road as the "Timothy J. Russert Highway" was introduced in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. The bill, sponsored by Senators

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

along with Representative

Brian Higgins Brian Michael Higgins (born October 6, 1959) is an American former politician who was the U.S. representative for , from 2005 until 2024. The district, numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 and as the 26th from 2013 to 2024, included ...

, was passed by both the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and the Senate and was signed into law by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

on July 23, 2008. The designation is in memory of Buffalo native

, the long-time host of NBC's ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk show broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though its format has changed since th ...

'' who died on June 13, 2008., 110th Congress, 2nd Session.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 020a (New York) 20A (New York) 20A A (New York) Transportation in Erie County, New York Transportation in Livingston County, New York Transportation in Ontario County, New York Transportation in Wyoming County, New York