Cost estimates for removing the remaining stretch of the Inner Loop have more than doubled to $223 million.
The project was thought to be fully funded two years ago, when Gov. Kathy Hochul committed $100 million for the highway’s removal.
"If we were in church we'd say, 'Let the church say amen,' " Mayor Malik Evans said at the time, rising to his feet to applaud the transformational investment.
Now Evans hopes to work with the state to secure federal infrastructure funding to make up the difference.
Increased construction costs pushed the estimate up $60 million, said David Riley, the city's principal transportation specialist. The rise is in line with the inflation seen in road projects generally, he added.
But the new estimate also includes items that emerged as the city drilled down into the details of its preferred concept, did a traffic study, and talked with the state Department of Transportation.
"We're starting to learn about tasks we might need to take on that just really weren't foreseeable back then," Riley said.
The additional costs include:
- $27 million to add a third lane to a stretch of I-490 near the Inner Loop interchange. Most of I-490 in that area is three lanes, but it narrows to two in one spot.
- $21 million to rehab a county sewer tunnel. Riley said that during the Inner Loop East project the city learned it needed to make some sewer improvements to accommodate new development. City officials expect this project to require similar work.
- $15 million for improvements to the bridge over the Genesee River to make it more attractive as well as pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
Riley said the city completed the planning study around the same time the state announced that High Falls and its gorge would become a state park. Officials want to make sure that the bridge connects people with the High Falls District and the new park, and that allows them to see the falls.
The bridge would also have as-of-yet undetermined "signature elements," for which it will take public input.
"If you look at other bridges in the city of Rochester, there are elements that kind of make them distinct, let you know that you're entering a distinct part of the city," Riley said. "And we really think that's appropriate for this project, not just for the Inner Loop and the surrounding neighborhoods, but again, connecting to that High Falls area and making clear this is part of the larger ROC the Riverway initiative as well."
Construction is still expected to begin in 2027, Riley said. But the hope now is to get $125 million in federal dollars through what is called the Reconnecting Communities Pilot discretionary grant program. The project is currently in a design phase which will take a couple of years, providing time to put a funding package together, Riley added.
The state Department of Transportation will serve as the lead applicant for the grant and will partner with the city on the Inner Loop North project, Riley said. The DOT has jurisdiction over I-490.
Riley said the Inner Loop North project is a good fit for the Reconnecting Communities program, which was created two years ago as part of a federal stimulus package. Buffalo has already received a $55.9 million grant for a similar project on a section of the Kensington Expressway.
"It's about removing transportation infrastructure that presents a barrier in the community where it's located, and it's about trying to stitch back together communities that have been harmed by past transportation decision," Riley said. "So that really sets the Inner Loop North to a tee, we think."
The additional costs were laid out in the city's draft scoping report for the project. The city is taking comments on that report through Sept. 16. It's available at innerloopnorth.com.
This story includes reporting from WXXI's Investigations and Enterprise Editor Brian Sharp.
