New York State Route 47

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[9][11]

NY 47's final eastern terminus was at this intersection with Culver Road in Irondequoit (shown as it was in March 2008). This part of NY 47 became NY 590.

Off the expressway and now at-grade, NY 47 turned north onto NY 383, forming a short concurrency 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 Genesee River and passing north of Strong Memorial Hospital prior to intersecting NY 15 (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 Brighton.[9]

Within Brighton, NY 47 continued on Elmwood Avenue through "Twelve Corners", intersecting NY 31 (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.[9]

NY 47 followed modern I-590 northward through Brighton to the Can of Worms, where NY 47 met I-490 for the second time.[9] 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 1,000 feet (305 m) before exiting I-490 onto the other portion of NY 47.[12] 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.[9]

When NY 47 was first commissioned in the Rochester area c. 1937,[3][13] it was routed along previously unnumbered roadways, with its northwest terminus located at the intersection of NY 31 (Lyell Avenue) and Howard Road in Gates. NY 47 took Howard Road south, passing through Gates Center and intersecting NY 33 before crossing the then-New York Central Railroad main line (now the CSX Transportation-owned Rochester Subdivision) at-grade. The route remained on Howard Road until the intersection of Howard Road and Chili Avenue (NY 33A), which also included Brooks Avenue at this juncture of time. NY 47 turned east onto Brooks Avenue and proceeded toward the Greater Rochester International Airport, joining the current routing of NY 204 at Beahan Road (now Old Beahan Road).[13][14]

The intersection of Elmwood Avenue and Winton Road at Twelve Corners in Brighton. NY 47 entered on Elmwood from the left and turned north here onto Winton.

NY 47 followed the entire alignment of NY 204 to what is now I-390 and continued on Brooks Avenue into Rochester to Genesee Park Boulevard. Route 47 turned south onto the street, which circles around the southwestern quadrant of the city, and followed its length to Genesee Street, where it turned south for a short distance before resuming its eastward alignment on Elmwood Avenue. The route remained on Elmwood Avenue into Brighton, where it turned north onto South Winton Road at Twelve Corners. At Highland Avenue, NY 47 reentered Rochester and became North Winton Road at East Avenue (NY 96). The route remained on Winton through Rochester and Irondequoit before terminating at Empire Boulevard (then US 104, now NY 404) just west of Irondequoit Bay.[13][14]

In the early 1950s, construction began on the Sea Breeze Expressway, a mostly limited-access highway linking the Lake Ontario shoreline to the proposed I-490 east of Rochester. The first portion of the road, a divided highway extending from East Ridge Road in Irondequoit to Culver Road just west of the Irondequoit Bay Outlet, was opened to traffic by 1954 as a realignment of NY 18.[15][16] Construction on a limited-access extension south to Empire Boulevard (three blocks west of NY 47's western terminus) began at some point between 1956 and 1958[17][18] and was completed by 1960 as a realignment of US 104.[19] Another extension of the highway south to the partially complete I-490 in Brighton was completed c. 1961[19][20] 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.[21]

Winton Road (former NY 47) at NY 96 in Rochester

By 1964, construction was underway on a new expressway leading south from I-490 at the Can of Worms to Elmwood Avenue east of Twelve Corners.[22] The highway was completed c. 1965, 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.[22][23]

The first realignment of NY 47 west of the city occurred c. 1962 when it was rerouted between Chili and Elmwood Avenues to bypass the then-Rochester–Monroe County Airport 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 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 southwest of the airport had yet to be extended to its present length.[20][21] 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.[21] Within two years, work had begun on an extension of the highway south along the Erie Canal to Scottsville Road. Farther east, construction was underway on a new highway leading south from I-490 to Elmwood Avenue east of Twelve Corners.[22]

Reference marker for NY 47 on NY 590 in Irondequoit

All of the limited-access highway between NY 31 and NY 383 opened to traffic c. 1965. 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.[22][23] By 1968, construction was underway on a northward extension of the expressway to US 104 in Greece.[24] It was completed and opened to traffic by 1971.[9]

NY 47 was officially extended on both ends on January 1, 1970, to terminate at Lake Ontario on opposite sides of Rochester. In Greece, the designation officially followed what is now NY 390 north to the Lake Ontario State Parkway;[25] however, the portion between US 104 and the parkway had yet to be constructed.[9] To the east in Irondequoit, NY 47 was stretched northward along the Sea Breeze Expressway to Culver Road,[25] 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, which became the new alignment of the route through Irondequoit after its completion in 1969.[24][26] 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 Webster that traversed Irondequoit Bay via the newly built Irondequoit Bay Bridge.[9] The overlap with NY 18 was eliminated c. 1973 when NY 18 was truncated to its current eastern terminus in Kodak Park.[8][27]

Old, rusted reference marker for NY 940L along Howard Road (former NY 47) in Gates

On March 18, 1980, the NY 47 designation was eliminated and split into four other routes.[5] 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;[28] 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.[26] 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.[28]

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 as NY 940L, an unsigned reference route 2.37 miles (3.81 km) in length.[1] Beahan Road, also bypassed by the same 1960s rerouting, was reconfigured into its current alignment by 1971 due to an expansion by the airport.[11] The section of Beahan Road that carried NY 47 is currently maintained by Monroe County as part of County Route 164 (CR 164), the county's unsigned designation for all of Beahan Road.[29][30] 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.[31] Lastly, the segments of Winton Road outside of the Rochester city limits are now part of CR 98.[31] The remainder of c. 1980 NY 47 and the former alignments of the route are currently locally maintained.