A $61.5 million pavement improvement project is underway on the New York State Thruway, Interstate 90, in Ontario and Monroe counties.
The project includes pavement rehabilitation and safety enhancements on a 4.3-mile stretch of the Thruway just east of Exit 44 to west of Exit 45 — Canandaigua, Victor, NY Route 332 to Rochester, Victor, Interstate 490. More than 60,000 vehicles per day travel on this stretch of the interstate daily.
Ontario County Board of Supervisors Chair Jared Simpson said, “This project will go a long way to enhance the safety of this well-traveled corridor. This section of the Thruway is one of the main gateways into Ontario County, whether for visitors shopping at Eastview Mall, tourists visiting Canandaigua Lake, or people traveling to and from work. The tens of thousands of people who traverse this section of highway each day will appreciate a new, modern and safe roadway. Thank you to our leaders in Albany and to the New York State Thruway Authority for implementing the project.”
To improve the driving surface, crews will utilize a method called “crack and seat” in both directions on I-90 from milepost 347.1 to milepost 351.4. “Crack and seat” involves cracking the concrete pavement, rolling the concrete with a heavy-proof roller and overlaying the surface with asphalt. After the crack and seat is completed, the area will be paved with asphalt on the mainline and shoulders.
Additional work includes milling and replacing the asphalt pavement on the Exit 44 and Exit 45 interchange ramps, replacing the concrete median barrier and replacing the Variable Message Sign (VMS) structure at milepost 349.51 with a new digital sign structure that can display important real-time safety information for drivers.
The project also includes work at four bridge culverts located at mileposts 350.77, 349.97, 348.67 and 347.81. Concrete repairs will be made to the deck of the bridges, which will then be covered with a waterproof membrane and asphalt-wearing surface. Repairs will also be made to the existing bridge railing and drainage systems. These improvements will extend the life of the Thruway and the culverts and enhance safety for motorists. The four bridge culverts included in this project carry traffic on I-90 eastbound and westbound and conduct traffic on Willowbrook Road, High Street, Victor Egypt Road, and Brownsville Road below the Thruway. During work on the bridge culverts, a section of Willowbrook Road and Victor Egypt Road will be closed with a posted detour for several weeks. The closures on a section of Brownsville Road and High Street at the bridge culvert locations will be conducted at a later date.
Other improvements in the project include installing a snow fence to prevent blowing snow at Exit 44, a new guide rail, new traffic signs — such as milepost markers, delineators and snow plow markers — and adding new reflective line striping along the mainline and Exit 44 and Exit 45 ramps.
Villager Construction, Inc. of Fairport, New York is the project contractor following a competitive bidding process. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.
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