New York State Route 253

NY 253 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York. It initially began at NY 36 in the hamlet of Mumford and followed Scottsville–Mumford Road to the village of Scottsville. NY 253 had overlaps with NY 251 and NY 35 through Scottsville, then continued east on Scottsville–West Henrietta, East River, and Erie Station roads to the Henrietta hamlet of West Henrietta. Here, it turned north to follow NY 2 (now NY 15) to Lehigh Station Road, which it followed eastward to its end at NY 65 in the town of Pittsford. NY 253 continued on, however, joining NY 65 northward to Calkins Road. It then followed Calkins and Mendon Center Roads to NY 64 south of the village of Pittsford.[2][4]

The junction of NY 441 and Linear Park Drive was the eastern terminus of NY 253 from the late 1930s to the 1960s.

NY 253 was extended northward through Pittsford and East Rochester by 1936 along NY 64, NY 15 (now NY 96), and Washington Street to a new terminus at NY 33 (modern NY 441) in Penfield.[5] NY 35 was rerouted south of Scottsville c. 1938 to follow the routing of NY 253 to Mumford. As a result, NY 253 was truncated to the northern terminus of its overlap with NY 35 (modern NY 383) north of the village center.[6][7]

Reference marker for NY 253 on Five Mile Line Road, a remnant of its former routing in Penfield

The bridge carrying NY 253 over Irondequoit Creek in Penfield's Linear Park was closed to vehicular traffic in the 1960s.[8] The portion of North Washington Street north of the creek, now severed from the rest of the route, was renamed Linear Park Drive.[9] NY 253, meanwhile, was rerouted north of the junction of North Washington Street and Linden Avenue to follow Linden Avenue eastward across Irondequoit Creek to Whitney Road in Perinton. It then turned north to follow Whitney and Five Mile Line Roads to the Four Corners of Penfield, where it ended at NY 441.[10]

An extension of Panorama Trail, named Panorama Trail South, was built from Panorama Creek Drive south to North Washington Street in the late 1960s and early 1970s to connect Washington to the new NY 441 limited-access highway being constructed through the towns of Brighton and Penfield. NY 253 was rerouted by 1971 to follow North Washington Street and the new highway northwest to the latter road's interchange with NY 441.[10][11]

The current eastern terminus of NY 253 at NY 65 in Pittsford. This was once the southern terminus of NY 253's overlap with NY 65.

In the latter half of the 1980s, NY 253 was truncated southward to the southern terminus of its overlap with NY 65 in Pittsford. The former routing of NY 253 north of NY 96 was redesignated as NY 153[12][13] while the segment between NY 65 and NY 64 on Calkins and Mendon Center Roads became NY 943C, an unsigned reference route 1.68 miles (2.70 km) in length.[1]

To the southwest in Henrietta, construction began by 1978 on an extension of Erie Station Road in the vicinity of Scottsville–West Henrietta and East River Roads. The new roadway, as proposed, would begin at the junction of Erie Station and East River Roads and parallel the New York State Thruway westward toward the Genesee River, then loop back to the southeast to end at Farrell Road.[14] Ultimately, the proposed loop to Farrell Road was scrapped in favor of a more direct connection with Scottsville–West Henrietta Road. The new highway became part of a rerouted NY 253 on April 1, 1984, when it was added to the state highway system as part of a highway maintenance swap between the state of New York and Monroe County. In the swap, ownership and maintenance of the former routing of NY 253 on Scottsville–West Henrietta Road was transferred from the state to the town of Henrietta while the East River Road portion was given to Monroe County[15] and is now part of County Route 84 (CR 84).[16]

Reference marker for NY 253 on Mendon Center Road (now NY 943C) in the town of Pittsford

In the late 1990s, the amount of traffic at the intersection between NY 253 (Erie Station Road) and NY 15 (West Henrietta Road) began to increase due to the creation of the Thruway Industrial Park. Due to the presence of historical buildings at the intersection, the junction could not be widened to handle the increased traffic flow.[8] As a result, plans were developed to construct a bypass of the intersection to the northwest. On July 29, 1999, Governor George Pataki announced that the state of New York would contribute $1 million[17] (equivalent to $1.53 million in 2021)[18] toward the construction of the highway, which would be an extension of Thruway Park Drive.[17] It opened to traffic in 2000 as a realignment of NY 253.[8] The roadway was dedicated to the town of Henrietta, and although a proposal was made that would transfer maintenance of the highway to the New York State Department of Transportation,[17] it remains a town highway today.[19] The 0.96-mile (1.54 km) long former routing of NY 253 on Erie Station Road became NY 943E, an unsigned reference route.[1][20]