According to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), I-790 follows NY 5 to Genesee Street while the highway leading to Thruway exit 31 is merely a pair of ramps connecting I-790 to its parent.

Past the tracks, the dense commercial and residential blocks that comprise downtown Utica give way to a mostly undeveloped strip of land surrounding the Mohawk River and Erie Canal.

I-790 continues on a northeasterly track across the open area, crossing the Mohawk River and a railroad grade just north of the waterway.

[4] As I-790 crosses the Erie Canal, it enters a complex interchange built around the New York State Thruway (I-90).

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.

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.