east along the thruway to the exit with northbound Genesee Street, where the Interstate Highway designation ends and the highways adjacent to the thruway become solely designated as NY 5. While I-790 eastbound has an exit leading directly to exit 31 of the thruway, Utica's only exit along the highway, there is no direct connection from exit 31 to I-790 westbound. Instead, I-790 westbound uses part of Genesee Street to get between the I-90 interchange and the highways carrying NY 5 along the thruway. History The portion of the North–South Arterial between Oriskany Street (NY 5A and NY 5S) and River Road was completed in the late 1950s. By 1961, a two-lane, limited-access highway was constructed along the south side of the New York State Thruway between the arterial and Thruway exit 31. The road left the arterial just north of the Erie Canal and had one intermediate interchange with Genesee Street before connecting directly to I-90 at exit 31. The two-lane connector and the section of the North–South Arterial between Oriskany Street and the connector was designated as I-790 by 1965. The connector was rebuilt as a four-lane freeway that straddles I-90. The direct connection from I-90 to I-790 was eliminated at this time, necessitating the use of surface streets and passing through traffic lights for traffic to reach I-790. Future There are efforts within NYSDOT to renumber NY 49 and NY 365 (from Utica to Thruway exit 33 in the town of Verona) to NY 790, with the eventual plan of renumbering it again as an extension of I-790. The cost for the conversion to Interstate standards is estimated to be between $150 million and $200 million. US Representative Mike Arcuri introduced legislation in July 2010 that would redesignate the portion of NY 49 from the North–South Arterial in Utica to NY 825 in Rome as part of I-790. The conversion is expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, which would be used to install new signage along the expressway. By adding the Utica–Rome Expressway to the Interstate Highway System, the area would receive approximately $10 million in additional federal highway funding over the next five years. According to Arcuri, the proposed redesignation is part of a larger, long-term goal of creating an Interstate Highway-standard freeway that would begin at Thruway exit 33 in Verona and pass through Rome before ending at Thruway exit 31. The