State and local officials announced $100 million in federal funding on Tuesday for Rochester's Inner Loop North transformation project.
The project aims to reconnect disadvantaged neighborhoods to Rochester’s downtown by removing the existing Inner Loop and replacing it with a new development.
“Today a transportation transformation begins for Rochester. I am proud to deliver a whopping $100 million from our Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law for Rochester to transform the Inner Loop, reconnect communities, and pave the way for the next phase of downtown Rochester’s revitalization,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "When we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, I stood in Rochester and promised it would deliver BIG and today a promise made becomes a promise kept. When the Inner Loop was built it cut through the heart of Rochester, fractured neighborhoods, increased pollution, and left scars of systemic inequality that are felt to this day. Federal highway policies led to the creation of the concrete walls of the Inner Loop that held back the downtown from reaching its full potential, but, today the federal government is stepping up to right that historical wrong. With this final piece of the puzzle Rochester’s Inner Loop has the final greenlight it needs to move this project forward.”
Sen. Schumer announced the funding along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Joe Morelle. Schumer's office says her urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to deliver funding for the project.
Officials say the project will replace a 1.5-mile segment of the grade-separated Inner Loop Expressway with an accessible network of complete streets and 22 acres will be reclaimed for redevelopment and green space.
“This is one of the biggest investments in the transformation of the Inner Loop and downtown Rochester yet, and I’m proud to have advocated hard to deliver it,” Sen. Gillibrand said in a statement. “This $100 million in funding will revitalize Rochester, promote growth, and build stronger, more equitable, and more livable communities. I’m a proud supporter of this project and I will keep fighting in Congress to deliver for New York.”
Lawmakers say the project hopes to support communities that were displaced when the Inner Loop was created in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The Inner Loop has served only to isolate neighborhoods within the City of Rochester and hold them back from progress—which is why my colleagues and I have been working to reunify and reconnect our community,” Rep. Morelle said in a statement. “I’m proud to have partnered with Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to secure this funding that will bring us one step closer to completing our work and correcting the injustices of the past. I’m grateful to USDOT for prioritizing this important project and I look forward to the work ahead as we continue building a more equitable, inclusive, and prosperous future for Rochester.”
Construction is expected to start sometime in 2027.
More information can be found on Schumer's official website.
