$100M Awarded for Rochester's Inner Loop North Transformation
Federal officials have announced $100 million in funding for the Inner Loop North Transformation Project, a major infrastructure overhaul to reconnect neighborhoods severed by the Inner Loop expressway.
The grant, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities program, will replace a 1.5-mile stretch of the sunken freeway with an accessible, multimodal at-grade street network. The project reclaims 22 acres for redevelopment and green space, creating safer streets, bike lanes, and local jobs.
“This funding marks a pivotal step toward revitalizing downtown Rochester and repairing past infrastructure harms,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. “It will reconnect communities, promote equity, and boost the local economy.”
The Inner Loop, constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, displaced predominantly Black and immigrant neighborhoods, isolating them from economic opportunities.
“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,” said Congressman Joe Morelle.
The transformation aims to address those inequities, following the success of the Inner Loop East project, which spurred $400 million in private investments and created mixed-income housing and a tourism anchor at the Strong National Museum of Play.
Governor Kathy Hochul praised the project, saying it will “create direct links to area attractions, world class multi-modal connectivity and bolster economic development opportunities throughout the entire region.”
The $100 million federal investment, combined with $123 million from New York State and the City of Rochester, fully funds the design and construction. Local leaders, including Mayor Malik D. Evans, emphasized the project’s transformative potential.
“This initiative will be instrumental in reconnecting our city, healing the damage of the past, and creating bold opportunities for our future,” Evans said.
The Inner Loop North project follows historic investments in Rochester under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $23.7 million for safer streets and $28 million to replace lead water service lines.
“This project has been made possible through the alignment of government and citizens in addressing a long-standing decision to remove a highway that has divided our city,” said Shawn Dunwoody & Suzanne Mayer with Hinge Neighbors Inc. “We are committed to reconnecting our community in the most effective manner possible through neighborhood engagement, street design and future land use planning that incorporates the voices of our neighbors.”
Assemblyman Demond Meeks expressed, “Rochester’s Inner Loop was not constructed with our communities or their families in mind. It has cut straight through our downtown neighborhoods and denied residents access to jobs, development, and meaningful investments for decades. We must be intentional about reunifying these communities, acknowledging the errors of the past, and showing continued support to the underserved residents throughout the city of Rochester.”
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