Good Question: How can you name a state road after someone?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What’s the process like for naming a state road in honor of someone? It’s a process involving the state legislature and the governor.

Around the area, state roads are named in honor of people including the Gary Beikirch Memorial Highway, named after the local Vietnam veteran who received the Medal of Honor. There’s also the Roger Robach Memorial Lakeway, named after the state assembly member who served from 1975 to 1991.

In a statement, the New York State Department of Transportation explains the process to name state roads:

“Memorial highway signage is installed following the introduction and subsequent passage of a bill through New York’s legislature. After passage and signature by the governor, NYSDOT works to install the signage along the corridor outlined in the legislation.”

So, for every memorial sign you see along the highway, there is a piece of legislation backing it up. As with any new law, it has to have support from a sponsor.

It’s introduced to the state legislature. Then if it passes in both the Senate and Assembly, it will go to the governor for her signature. Keep in mind, this is just for state roads named in honor of someone in the community.

For town road names, such as residential tracks in the suburbs for example, those do not go through the state legislature. Those are named independently, typically by developers or the town.

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