crossing, I-990 bends northward once again and enters exit 4, a diamond interchange with North French Road (CR 299). Past North French Road, I-990 bends back to the northeast, crossing Hopkins Road (CR 87) as it approaches an at-grade intersection with NY 263 (Millersport Highway). The junction serves as I-990's exit 5 and its northern terminus. Traffic approaching the junction on northbound I-990 is diverted onto what was intended to be a single-lane exit ramp leading to NY 263. A small stub of highway exists east of the exit gore. History On October 30, 1968, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) nominated 20 proposed highways to be added to the Interstate Highway System as part of a nationwide system expansion authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968. One of the submitted roads was the Lockport Expressway, a , $22-million limited-access highway extending in a northeast–southwest direction between I-290 north of Buffalo and a proposed Niagara Falls–Rochester freeway near Lockport. When the city of Niagara Falls released its Regional Highway Plan for the Buffalo–Niagara Falls area in 1971, the Niagara Falls–Rochester highway was scrapped; as a result, the north end of the Lockport Expressway was moved to a point on NY 31 east of Lockport. In between I-290 and NY 31, the highway would intersect the proposed Belt Expressway and NY 78 (Transit Road). While the outer belt proposal was mostly dropped, the plans to build the Lockport Expressway gained traction in January 1979 when the portion between I-290 and North French Road was added to the Interstate Highway System and designated as I-990. The remainder of the original route was excluded due to a lack of funding. Construction began in 1980 on the part south of Sweet Home Road, and the highway was opened to traffic by 1985. The section leading northeast to North French Road was built during the mid-1980s and completed by 1990. In 1986, NYSDOT began to evaluate ways to improve the highways surrounding the northern terminus of I-990. One of the potential options was an extension of the freeway to NY 263 (Millersport Highway) southwest of Lockport. This option was ultimately selected, and the new section of the freeway was opened to traffic on December 21, 1990. It was officially added to I-990 on October 22, 1993. In June 2013, I-990 was renamed from the Lockport Expressway to the Staff Sergeant William R.