New York State Route 63

New York State Route 63 (NY 63) is a state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. It extends for 82.11 miles (132.14 km) in a generally southeast–northwest direction from an intersection with NY 15 and NY 21 in the village of Wayland in Steuben County to a junction with NY 18 in the town of Yates in Orleans County, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Lake Ontario shoreline. The route passes through the city of Batavia and enters or comes near several villages, including Dansville and Medina.

NY 63 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, but to a largely different routing than it follows today. The original alignment of NY 63 was identical to its current alignment between Mount Morris and Pavilion; however, the route deviated significantly from its modern routing past those points as it extended southwest from Mount Morris to Hinsdale and north from Pavilion to Hamlin. It was rerouted north of Pavilion c. 1939 and south of Mount Morris in the early 1940s. The latter realignment supplanted New York State Route 36A, a Dansville–Mount Morris highway assigned in 1930. For a brief period during the 1970s, NY 63 began in Dansville instead of Wayland.

NY 63 begins at a four-way intersection with NY 15 and NY 21 in the village of Wayland, located in northern Steuben County. It heads west through the village on the two-lane West Naples Street to a less developed part of the town of Wayland, where it parallels Interstate 390 (I-390) on the north side of a wide valley. The route soon enters Livingston County and the town of North Dansville, gaining the name Main Street as it bends northwestward into the village of Dansville. Here, it overlaps with NY 36 for one block through the village center, beginning at Clara Barton Street and ending at Ossian Street. After another block, NY 63 meets the south end of NY 256 at Perine Street. While NY 256 heads north toward Conesus Lake, NY 63 proceeds northwest past Dansville Municipal Airport and out of the village limits.

Continuing north into the town of Sparta, NY 63 runs along the east side of a wide, rural valley surrounding Canaseraga Creek, with NY 36 and I-390 following the west side. The route eventually reaches the town of Groveland and hamlet of Groveland Station, where NY 258, a connector to NY 36, comes in from the west at the town line. Another long, open stretch brings the route to the vicinity of the village of Mount Morris, where it runs much closer to I-390 and indirectly connects to the expressway by way of NY 408 at Hampton Corners. From this point north, the road becomes busier as NY 63 is the primary route to the village of Geneseo for northbound traffic on I-390 itself, as there is no exit at the point where the expressway crosses under NY 63. I-390 ultimately bypasses Geneseo to the southeast while NY 63 heads north toward the village, briefly joining with U.S. Route 20A (US 20A) and NY 39 just outside the village limits.

The highway enters Geneseo from the south, taking the name Genesee Street as it passes the western edge of the campus of SUNY Geneseo. At the edge of the campus, the route crosses the Genesee River and exits Geneseo. Past the river in the town of York, NY 63 begins to curve northwest up and out of the Genesee River valley until it runs east–west once again at the hamlet of Piffard. The major junction in York is the community of Greigsville, where NY 63 reconnects with NY 36. This next section of highway has become a major shortcut for traffic heading to the Buffalo area, despite remaining a two-lane road through open rural country, since it is both physically shorter than going all the way to the New York State Thruway as well as toll-free. Most of this Buffalo-bound traffic follows NY 36 north from Mount Morris and turns on to NY 63 here. Signage along this route reflects this use.

From Greigsville, the route heads west through open land into the northeast corner of Wyoming County and the town of Covington. At Peoria, the highway turns to head due northwest, its direction for the next 30 miles (48 km). The bend at Peoria was once a sharp, accident-prone turn known as Peoria Curve; however, the route has been slightly realigned to the north to create a longer, more gradual curve. From Peoria, NY 63 runs across rolling, open terrain to the Genesee County line and the town of Pavilion. Just past the county line, the route connects to the northern end of NY 246. A mile (1.6 km) beyond, NY 63 drops down slightly to intersect with NY 19 at the hamlet of Pavilion. After the traffic light at the center of the hamlet, NY 63 crosses Oatka Creek and climbs back up out of the Wyoming Valley.

Once atop the hill, it continues due northwest to its next junction, the underdeveloped crossing of US 20. Here at least some Buffalo-bound traffic will turn west. Eventually acquiring the name Ellicott Street, NY 63 crosses sparsely populated parts of the towns of Bethany and Batavia on its way to the city of Batavia. The route passes under the Depew, Lancaster and Western Railroad and the CSX Transportation-owned Rochester Subdivision rail line on its way into downtown, where it intersects the two major east–west trunk routes in this corridor, NY 5 and NY 33. It overlaps with both roads for several blocks along Main Street, with NY 33 splitting off at Oak Street. This junction is also where NY 63 meets the north–south NY 98, which connects to the Thruway just north of the city.

NY 63 forks from NY 5 at the western city line, returning to the town of Batavia, changing names to Lewiston Road as it passes by Batavia Downs and runs northwest from downtown. The highway crosses over the Thruway with no access to the highway on its way across another rural stretch leading to the village of Oakfield, located in the town of the same name, where NY 262 departs to the east. Just north of Oakfield, NY 63 turns due west on Judge Road, with Lewiston Road continuing northwest as County Route 12 (CR 12). NY 63 follows Judge Road into the town of Alabama, passing through the hamlet of South Alabama on its way to an undeveloped junction with NY 77 north of Basom. NY 63 turns north here, overlapping with NY 77 for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the hamlet of Alabama. In the center of the community, NY 63 reconnects to CR 12, and NY 77 turns west to follow the county road to the Niagara County line.