Ridge Road (Western New York)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ridge Road
Formed: Prior to 1934
West end: NY 18F in Lewiston
Major
junctions:		 Robert Moses in Lewiston
NY 390 in Greece
NY 590 in Irondequoit
East end: NY 370 near Red Creek
Counties: Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne
County routes in New York

Ridge Road is a long east-west road spanning numerous counties and 120 miles across Upstate New York. The road is named for the nearby Niagara Escarpment, which the road follows for its run between the town of Lewiston and the easternmost point of the ridge near Red Creek. Ridge Road begins at New York State Route 18F near New York State Route 18, New York State Route 104 and the Robert Moses State Parkway in Lewiston and passes through several towns and the city of Rochester before arriving at its eastern terminus at New York State Route 370 southwest of Red Creek.

Most of the road is maintained by either the New York State Department of Transportation as a touring route or by county highway departments as a county road. It was once signed as U.S. Route 104, the predecessor to New York State Route 104.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] Lewiston to Rochester

For more details on Ridge Road between Lewiston and Rochester, see New York State Route 104.
Communities

The right of way of Ridge Road begins at the intersection of Center and Water Streets in the village of Lewiston. Following Center Street east, the right of way meets NY 18F, as well as County Route 907, which runs concurrent to NY 18F throughout most of Niagara County. NY 18F and CR 907 joins Center Street east through the village to the interchange with the Robert Moses State Parkway, where the road becomes Ridge Road in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment.

NY 18F crosses over the Parkway, meeting NY 104 and terminating at an intersection three-tenths of a mile north of the Escarpment, which runs north-south between Niagara Falls and Lewiston. East of this location, Ridge Road is occupied by NY 104 and parallels the east-west running Escarpment to its south.

The path of Ridge Road runs concurrent with NY 104 between Lewiston and the Genesee River in Rochester.

[edit] Rochester area

At the Genesee River, NY 104, now West Ridge Road, crosses the Veterans Memorial Bridge and becomes an expressway on the east bank of the river. Ridge Road, however, continues to the north of NY 104 as East Ridge Road. Between St. Paul Street and North Clinton Avenue, East Ridge Road is New York State Route 104 Truck. East of Clinton, East Ridge becomes a city-maintained road for a quarter of a mile to the Irondequoit town line, where the road turns into Monroe County Route 241.

East Ridge acts as the major commercial strip in Irondequoit and parallels NY 104 as it proceeds east. The road's status as an anchor for the town's economy is supported by the presence of a Wal-Mart supercenter on Hudson Avenue between NY 104 and East Ridge Road and the Medley Centre, formerly the Irondequoit Mall, located on East Ridge between North Goodman Street and Culver Road. Past Culver, the look along East Ridge changes slightly, becoming a divided highway as the surrounding neighborhood begins to shift from commercial to residential, a change ushered in by the presence of Eastridge High School.

The divided highway, as well as County Route 241, comes to an end at an interchange with New York State Route 590 at exit 11, the northernmost exit on the expressway. The exit is unorthodox in that the exit is bordered on both sides by NY 104, which is forced to parallel NY 590 for a short distance due to the composition of the area.

After passing over NY 104 westbound, under NY 590 and over NY 104 eastbound, East Ridge Road becomes a nondescript residential street as it enters the Irondequoit neighborhood of Newport. The only through-traffic road that East Ridge intersects before terminating at a cul-de-sac on a plateau overlooking Irondequoit Bay is Bay Shore Blvd., which can be traversed to reach the community of Bayport and Norton Street, among other destinations.

Ridge Road itself does not traverse Irondequoit Bay; this task is accomplished by New York State Route 404 at the southern tip of the bay, NY 104 via the Irondequoit Bay Bridge, and Culver and Lake Roads at the mouth of the bay via a seasonal swing bridge that is open only during the winter months. This gap in Ridge Road is the only major discontinuity along its length.

[edit] Webster to Wayne County

For more details on Ridge Road between Empire Blvd. and the county line, see New York State Route 404.

Directly across the bay in Webster, Ridge Road resumes at an intersection with Glen Edith Drive and Bay Road in an area of the town known as West Webster. Like East Ridge Road in Rochester east of North Clinton, this stretch of Ridge Road is locally maintained. State maintenance resumes one mile to the east as Ridge Road merges with Empire Blvd., which carries NY 404, to form a single road retaining both the Ridge Road name and the NY 404 designation.

Ridge Road carries NY 404 east to an intersection located a half-mile west of the Monroe-Wayne county line, where NY 404 turns north onto an unnamed road that leads down the escarpment, which Ridge Road runs on the edge of throughout most of its alignment in Webster, to NY 104. Ridge Road, in the meantime, becomes locally maintained for its remaining half-mile in Monroe County.

[edit] Wayne County

Upon crossing the county line, Ridge Road becomes Wayne County Route 103. NY 104 is visible at the foot of the escarpment from Ridge Road for most of Ridge Road's routing through the town of Ontario. The two roads, which run parallel to one another between the village of Webster and Ontario Center, begin to separate at New York State Route 350 in Ontario Center. By New York State Route 21 in Williamson, the distance has grown to 0.6 miles before coming back to within 0.3 miles of NY 104 at Town Line Road (County Route 218), a distance that remains constant to the village of Sodus.

Sodus, the first notable location along the otherwise rural Ridge Road since leaving Monroe County, marks the return of NYSDOT maintenance to Ridge Road as County Route 103 ends and New York State Route 88, which begins northwest of this point at NY 104, proceeds east along Ridge Road into the village.

In Sodus, the name of the road changes to West Main Street. Despite the fact that NY 88 turns south onto Carlton Street to leave Sodus, the name of the street remains West Main. From this point, however, the road is now Wayne County Route 143. At Maple Avenue, the road becomes East Main Street and splits into two roads. The upper road, known as Old Ridge Road and maintained by the town, climbs up the side of the escarpment while East Main Street runs along the base of the ridge and splits again near the Ontario Midland Railroad grade crossing, becoming State Street and Ridge Road.

Outside of the village, Ridge Road crosses the Ontario Midland at an oblique angle a short distance away from an intersection with NY 104. By crossing NY 104 here, Ridge Road now runs to the north of NY 104 for the first time since the start of East Ridge Road in Rochester and only the second time since the beginning of the road in Lewiston.

Ridge Road runs parallel to NY 104 for a considerable distance to the Sodus hamlet of Alton, where Ridge Road shares the roadway with New York State Route 14 as NY 14 enters from the north, travels east for 150 yards along Ridge Road, and resumes its trek southward toward North Rose. CR 143 continues along Ridge Road, however.

East of Alton, Ridge Road breaks from NY 104 and takes a more northerly alignment than the Super-2 expressway to its south, crossing the southern tip of Sodus Bay before taking on an easterly routing to parallel NY 104 once again.

Northwest of Wolcott, Ridge Road meets Lummisville Road, County Route 155. The CR 143 designation comes to an end in favor of CR 155, which follows Ridge Road southeast into the village. On the east edge of the village, Ridge Road intersects the northern terminus of County Route 262, formerly New York State Route 89. Here, Ridge Road gains another county route designation, this time becoming Wayne County Route 163.

Due east of Wolcott, Ridge Road intersects NY 104 for the last time. On the other side of the Super-2, Ridge Road continues eastward towards Red Creek, where Ridge Road and CR 163 terminate at New York State Route 370 south of the village.

[edit] History

Main article: New York State Route 104

In 1800, Ridge Road was the East and West Indian Trail. It wasn’t until 1812 that the trail was made passable from the Genessee River west to Lewiston, but it was a narrow crude path with no bridges. In 1816, the state paid $5,000 to make the trail passable by wagons. By 1820, the trail was being used by daily stage coats. The trail was the main mode of transportation between the Genesee River and points west until the establishment of the Erie Canal in 1825, and later, rail roads. It wasn't until the early 1900's that the road saw major improvements, thanks to the increasing popularity of the automobile.[1]

Prior to 1934, Ridge Road was New York State Route 31 from Lewiston east to Rochester and New York State Route 3 from Rochester east to the end of Ridge Road near Red Creek.[2] In 1934, U.S. Route 104 was assigned along the length of Ridge Road, replacing NY 31 and NY 3, with NY 31 being rerouted onto its current alignment west of Rochester, replacing NY 3 in this area.

[edit] Shifting of 104 to expressways

Beginning in the 1940s, US 104 began to be moved from Ridge Road onto expressways constructed to bypass the numerous communities that had developed along Ridge Road east of Rochester. The first segment to be constructed was modern-day NY 104 from the Monroe-Wayne county line at Union Hill to the current northern terminus of NY 88 in Sodus. Connections between Ridge Road and the expressway were made via what is now NY 404 between Ridge Road and NY 104 in Webster and what is now NY 88 between NY 104 and Ridge Road in Sodus.

The movement continued in early 1960s as construction to extend the expressway headed eastward from Sodus. The first phase of the present-day 104 expressway between Sodus and NY 414 was completed in the mid-to-late 1960s. US 104, which had been reassigned to the expressway over this stretch, remained connected to Ridge Road via Lake Bluff Road, an extension of NY 414 north of 104. From the expressway, US 104 followed Lake Bluff Road north to Ridge Road, where the route continued east along Ridge Road.[3]

Meanwhile, in Irondequoit and Rochester, a similar project was taking place just south of East Ridge Road. Throughout the late 1960s, construction ensued on the Keeler Street Expressway, the highway located between the Veterans Bridge and then-NY 47. The name was derived from Keeler Street, one of the streets that used the traffic circle at the bridge (along with St. Paul Street and Ridge Road) but was turned into a dead end when the circle was removed for the St. Paul Street exit. Upon completion, US 104 was moved from East Ridge Road to the expressway, which is still officially the Keeler Street Expressway to this day.[4]

Out in Wayne County, phase two of the super-two expressway between NY 414 and the Cayuga county line, near NY 104A and a short distance northeast of the eastern end of Ridge Road, was completed in 1970. The completion of this section allowed US 104 to be completely relocated out of the small towns that had risen along Ridge Road in Wayne County.[3] In place of US 104, Ridge Road in Wayne County was designated County Routes 103, 143 and 163 while East Ridge Road in Irondequoit became Monroe County Route 241.

[edit] US 104 becomes NY 104

West of the Genesee River, Ridge Road remained part of US 104, unchanged from the initial assignment of US 104 in 1934. In 1972, US 104 was decommissioned in favor of NY 104, reviving the NY 104 designation after 37 years of dormancy.[5]

[edit] Linking Keeler St. with Wayne County

Now as NY 104, construction was underway to link the Keeler St. Expressway with the Wayne County Super 2. In 1972, the Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway opened, with the Irondequoit Bay Bridge having been completed three years before.[6] The expressway extended from NY 47 to Five Mile Line Road upon opening and to NY 250 by 1978.[7][8] The remaining portion between NY 250 and the Wayne County line was built in the 1980s, completing the expressway between Rochester and Southwest Oswego. Upon completion, NY 104 was removed from surface streets in Webster and relocated onto the expressway to the north. Ridge Road then became part of NY 404.

[edit] Major intersections

Ridge Road is part of NY 18F in Lewiston, NY 104 from Lewiston east to the Genesee River in Rochester, and NY 404 in Webster. Intersections along those segments of Ridge Road can be found in the articles on those routes.

This section contains a table that is missing mileposts for one or more junctions. Please help by adding the missing mileposts.
County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
NY 18F and NY 104 follow Ridge Road between Lewiston and Rochester
Monroe Rochester St. Paul Street Begin East Ridge Road eastbound and West Ridge Road westbound (via St. Paul Street)
Western terminus of CR 241
Irondequoit
Hudson Avenue ( CR 112)
Portland Avenue ( CR 114)
North Goodman Street ( CR 108) / Kings Highway ( CR 118) Northern terminus of CR 108; southern terminus of CR 118
Culver Road ( CR 120)
NY 590 Exit 11 (NY 590); eastern terminus of CR 241
Dead end at cul-de-sac
Irondequoit Bay; gap in roadway
Webster
Bay Road (CR 16)
NY 404 west NY 404 joins Ridge Road eastbound and leaves westbound
NY 404 follows Ridge Road through the village of Webster and the immediate vicinity
NY 404 east NY 404 leaves Ridge Road eastbound and joins westbound
County Line Road ( CR 2) Western terminus of CR 103
Wayne Ontario
Lincoln Road (CR 200) Northern terminus of CR 200
Lakeside Road (CR 102) Southern terminus of CR 102
NY 350
Knickerbocker Road (CR 108) Southern terminus of CR 108
Furnace Road (CR 110) Southern terminus of CR 110
Arbor Road (CR 210) Northern terminus of CR 210
Williamson
Ridge Chapel Road (CR 212) Northern terminus of CR 212
Tuckahoe Road (CR 116) Southern terminus of CR 116
NY 21
Townline Road (CR 118 / CR 218) Southern terminus of CR 118; northern terminus of CR 218
Town of Sodus Centenary Road (CR 230) Northern terminus of CR 230
NY 88 north Eastern terminus of CR 103; NY 88 joins Ridge Road eastbound and leaves westbound
Village of Sodus NY 88 south NY 88 leaves Ridge Road eastbound and joins westbound
Western terminus of CR 143
Town of Sodus
Buerman Road (CR 238) Northern terminus of CR 238
NY 104
South Geneva Road (CR 140 / CR 240) Southern terminus of CR 140; northern terminus of CR 240
NY 14 north NY 88 joins Ridge Road eastbound and leaves westbound
NY 14 south NY 88 leaves Ridge Road eastbound and joins westbound
Huron Lake Bluff Road (CR 154 / CR 254) Southern terminus of CR 154; northern terminus of CR 254
North Huron Road (CR 156 / CR 256) Southern terminus of CR 156; northern terminus of CR 256
Lummisville Road (CR 155) Eastern terminus of CR 155
Eastern terminus of CR 143
Village of Wolcott
Auburn Street Former northern terminus of NY 89
Western terminus of CR 163
Town of Wolcott
NY 104
NY 370 Eastern terminus of CR 163; roadway continues east as NY 370

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wright, Leith L. (1984). Hilton - U.S.A.: An Illustrated History of the Settlement, Growth and Development of the Village of Hilton, 1805-1981. Village of Hilton. 
  2. ^ Leon A. Dickinson, New Signs for State Highways, New York Times January 12, 1930 page 136
  3. ^ a b Old NY 104 - Ridge Road in the Sodus Bay/Wolcott Areas
  4. ^ Empire State Roads - Interchange of the Week - Week 6
  5. ^ New York Routes - New York State Route 104
  6. ^ Irondequoit Bay Bridge
  7. ^ USGS Topographic Map - Drawn 1971, Revised 1978
  8. ^ USGS Topographic Map - Drawn 1971, Revised 1978