Thruway

The New York State Thruway connects all of the major cities of New York State. Part of the Thruway is shared with the designation, Interstate 90 (I-90) (including the portion that runs closest to Rochester).

The New York State Thruway is a toll roadway. Travel along the Thruway is generally smooth and easy, with speed limits consistently at 65 mph throughout. Rest stations are clean and well maintained. In the Buffalo area there are toll booths on either end of town and the segment between is I-90 only, and is free. See I90 on Buffalo Wiki.

The New York State Thruway portion of I-90 runs south of Rochester. To get to Rochester, there are three main exits you can use. Starting from the West:

• At Exit 47 (mile 378.5 - Leroy), you can take Interstate 490 east towards Rochester.
  

• At Exit 46 (mile 362.4 - Henrietta), you can take Interstate 390 north towards Rochester.
  

• At Exit 45 (mile 350.9) - Fairport/Victor), you can take Interstate 490 west towards Rochester.

For those interested in exploring the regional and local offerings of our state, finding alternate routes is advised. You will not discover small town charm along the Thruway. For travel between the Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo areas, consider taking Route 5, Route 20 or Route 31.

The longest Interstate Highway, Interstate 90 serves major northern cities such as Seattle, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany, and Boston. Smaller cities such as Spokane, Butte, Billings, Sheridan, Moorcroft, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Austin, Wisconsin Dells, Madison, Rockford, South Bend, Toledo, Erie, Syracuse, and Springfield also dot Interstate 90 on its travels.

The eastern third of Interstate 90's routing predates the Interstate system and follows tolled turnpikes. Some of the tolled sections of Interstate 90 include the Northwest Tollway (between Beloit and O'Hare International Airport), the Chicago Skyway (between Interstate 94 and the Indiana State Line), the Indiana East/West Tollway, the Ohio Turnpike, the New York Thruway, and the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike). Some sections of these toll roads predated the 1956 Interstate Highway Act (and therefore Interstate 90).

Related Websites:

• Official NY State Thruway website
  

• Interactive Thruway Map - includes traffic cameras
  

• Wikipedia article on the NYS Thruway
  

• Wikipedia article on Interstate 90
  

• Interstate 90 - lists mileages, intersections with other interstates, and quirks
  

• Exit Listings for the NY State Thruway on UpstateNYRoads.com.
  

• AA Roads Interstate Guide

Also see: Routes

Comments:

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2005-06-23 03:59:03   I sort of disagree with the redirection of Interstate 90 to this page. Only a portion of I-90 is the Thruway, and further, only about half of the Thruway is I-90. Between Albany and NYC, the Thruway is I-87 —JackCalcines

• I agree with you. Let's wait a day to see who else has an opinion, then we'll seperate them if there are no major disagreements. — RobertPolyn
  

2005-06-23 13:37:17   Was not aware that Thruway != I90. Suggest we rename Thruway to Interstate 90, then create a new Thruway page that links to I-90, I-87, etc. —TobinFricke

2005-06-23 15:29:32   While not totally correct, the Thruway is I-90 within the context of Rochester. I don't personally have a problem with there being one Thruway/I-90 article, as there's probably not enough unique information to make two useful articles either. —RyanTucker

• As the Wiki expands, I see there being use for seperate articles. The interstate page could come to focus on what I-90 offers itself, in the way of reststops, access, and surrounding points of interest (towns, cities, and interesting geology). While the Thruway page can describe Rochester's interest and history involving the thruway (the political reasons for why it was constructed to bypass rather than run through our city, and the resulting economic implications should easily be enough to flesh out an entire page). — RobertPolyn
  

2007-02-07 16:53:45   Robert (or anyone), what are the political reasons you mention in your comment? This is a subject of interest to me, and I've been unable to find any web reading. —EastSideStephen

2007-12-20 16:21:46   I have wondered too—How come the Thruway provides exits going directly into Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, Albany & NYC (City Island), but not Rochester. A view of the Thruway, and its exits can be viewed here http://www.nysthruway.gov/maps/index.html

This is from wikipedia: "During the Thruway's construction, a disagreement between the governor of New York and mayor of Rochester resulted in a purposeful bypass of downtown Rochester, leaving the city struggling for growth in the decades following."

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester%2C_New_York#Roads (last viewed 12/20/07) —MrPhil

2007-12-21 16:40:31   I've heard that story about the Thruway being located south of Rochester due to gubernatorial politics is an urban myth. Someone cite a legitimate source for that. And the whole argument that somehow the Thruway's southern trajectory contributed to Rochester's decline is hogwash... the Thruway runs very close to Buffalo, Syracuse, and Utica and those places ain't exactly booming. —JasonHaremza

2011-06-12 21:40:41   Route 31 is another great alternate to the New York State Thruway if looking to take in some of the sites and scenes of the rural sector of Greater Rochester and Western New York. Most of this route parallels the historic Erie Canal and towns like Port Byron, Savannah, Clyde, Lyons, Newark, Palmyra, Spencerport, Adams Basin, Brockport, Holley, and Albion each have their own individuality while being linked by the waterway that was the original thruway of our state. Heading further west, 31 passes through Lockport and Sanborn before reaching Niagara Falls. —derekcarden