Most of NY 15 is maintained by NYSDOT; however, the section of the route that lies within the city of
Rochester is locally maintained.
Steuben and Livingston counties NY 15 begins at
I-390 exit 3 in the
town of Wayland in northwestern
Steuben County. It heads north along an
overlap with
NY 21, connecting to
NY 415 and passing the northwest end of the
B&H Rail Corporation's main line on its way into the
village of Wayland, where it becomes South Lackawanna Street. In the village center, NY 21 separates from NY 15, turning east at Naples Street at an intersection that also serves as the southern terminus of
NY 63. The route continues north alone, becoming North Lackawanna Street for its last few blocks in the village before leaving it for
Livingston County. Across the county line in the town of
Springwater, NY 15 proceeds through more open areas as it heads generally northward into a valley containing the
hamlet of Springwater, also officially known as Springwater Hamlet, built up around NY 15's junction with
NY 15A. While NY 15A heads due north from Springwater toward
Hemlock Lake, NY 15 leaves Springwater to the west, climbing out of the valley and snaking its way northwestward through the hills of the
Southern Tier to the town of
Conesus. At the hamlet of Conesus, NY 15 connects to
County Route 71 (CR 71), Past Conesus, the route continues northward across rolling, rural terrain to the
village of Livonia, located in the town of the
same name. NY 15 veers northeastward as Commercial Street for three blocks to Main Street, which carries the east–west
US 20A through the village. Here, NY 15 turns west onto Main Street, joining US 20A on a overlap along Main Street and Big Tree Road that takes both routes into the adjacent hamlet of
Lakeville, located at the northern tip of
Conesus Lake. The two routes split in the center of the community, where US 20A continues west towards Buffalo while NY 15 turns north towards
Rochester. Just north of the community is a junction with Thruway Park Drive, the current routing of NY 253 through the area. Here, NY 15 takes part in its third and final concurrency as NY 253 joins NY 15 for one mile (1.6 km) across the
New York State Thruway (
I-90) to Lehigh Station Road, which NY 253 follows eastward toward
Pittsford. NY 15, meanwhile, continues on a northeasterly line toward Rochester, passing by the studios of local television stations,
WHAM and
WUHF, prior to entering a major commercial district surrounding
The Marketplace Mall and Jefferson Road (
NY 252). Within the district, NY 15 crosses a spur of the LAL and intersects NY 252 at a grade-separated interchange just south of the Henrietta–
Brighton town line. The route exits Henrietta for Brighton, but the commercial surroundings remain until Crittenden Road, a local east–west arterial linking NY 15 to both NY 15A and the
Monroe Community College campus on the latter route.
Rochester North of Crittenden Road, NY 15 passes through a pocket of residential development that borders I-390 and the adjacent
Erie Canal. At the northern edge of the area, NY 15 meets and crosses I-390 for the final time at exit 16. While I-390 continues northwest from here, bypassing most of Rochester, NY 15 stays true to its linear northeasterly alignment, crossing the Erie Canal and entering the city's southernmost section. In this area, NY 15, now Mount Hope Avenue, serves the Monroe County offices and meets NY 15A at East Henrietta Road, completing the eastern alternate loop of NY 15. One long block to the north is Elmwood Avenue (formerly
NY 47), which crosses NY 15 at the southeastern corner of
Mount Hope Cemetery. The route continues on, running along the east side of the cemetery and the west side of
Highland Park as it crosses into a predominately residential section of Rochester known as the South Wedge. NY 15 finally breaks from the linear alignment it had followed since southern Henrietta and gradually gets closer to the nearby
Genesee River as it heads northward through the neighborhood; however, it makes a sharp turn to the east just south of
downtown Rochester to meet South Avenue in the shadow of
I-490 and the
Inner Loop. Mount Hope Avenue ends here while NY 15 continues east onto Byron Street, a one-block connector between South and South Clinton Avenues. At its east end, NY 15 turns north onto a unidirectional section of Clinton Avenue, passing over I-490 and the Inner Loop before reaching its northern terminus at the intersection of South Clinton Avenue and Woodbury Boulevard (
NY 31) in downtown Rochester. Most of southeastern downtown Rochester's major streets are one-way, resulting in split routings for both NY 15 and NY 31 as they pass through downtown. Westbound NY 31 continues north from the north end of NY 15 on South Clinton Avenue to East Broad Street, onto which it turns west. Southbound NY 15, meanwhile, begins one block to the west at the intersection of South Avenue and Woodbury Boulevard (where eastbound NY 31 makes a left turn). NY 15 follows South Avenue, as well as a number of ramps traversing the Inner Loop and I-490, to the intersection of Mount Hope Avenue and Byron Street, where it joins northbound NY 15 on Mount Hope Avenue. ==History==