I 490 Bridge Replacements

[webny99]

The backups on I-490 have been extra-bad the past few days, likely due to state fair traffic, and made worse tonight by a steady rain moving through the area.

I-490 WB was as bad as I've ever seen it, with both thru lanes backed up over the NY 96 overpass. There was also considerable traffic using the exit only lane, but fortunately they seemed to be using Exit 27 or merging left early. I noticed NYSDOT added about a dozen large construction cones to the Exit 27 gore area, presumably to prevent people cutting in from the exit only lane, and that seems to have been effective: despite losing about 10 minutes in traffic, there were no line-cutters for the last ~half-mile, and the merge was surprisingly orderly and smooth.

[Rothman]

The backups on I-490 have been extra-bad the past few days, likely due to state fair traffic, and made worse tonight by a steady rain moving through the area.

I-490 WB was as bad as I've ever seen it, with both thru lanes backed up over the NY 96 overpass. There was also considerable traffic using the exit only lane, but fortunately they seemed to be using Exit 27 or merging left early. I noticed NYSDOT added about a dozen large construction cones to the Exit 27 gore area, presumably to prevent people cutting in from the exit only lane, and that seems to have been effective: despite losing about 10 minutes in traffic, there were no line-cutters for the last ~half-mile, and the merge was surprisingly orderly and smooth.

I find it hard to believe that traffic on I-490 would be that affected by the State Fair, especially on weekdays.

[webny99]

The backups on I-490 have been extra-bad the past few days, likely due to state fair traffic, and made worse tonight by a steady rain moving through the area.
...

I find it hard to believe that traffic on I-490 would be that affected by the State Fair, especially on weekdays.

Not massively impacted, but noticeably. The days of the State Fair are typically among the busiest travel days of the year on the Thruway between Rochester and Syracuse, including on weekdays respectively.