BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side has an update on a big project to revamp a long stretch of Main Street in Buffalo where construction is expected to start next summer.
Middle Main Street goes from Goodell Street to Kensington Avenue, and on Tuesday we learned that $ 50 million in federal funding will help pay for the project. Because of that, it will now be done in one phase instead of being divided in two at Ferry Street.
"Obviously, it's in need of new pavement, new pavement markings, new sidewalks," said Nolan Skipper, City Engineer, Buffalo DPW.
And soon, middle Main Street in Buffalo will get all that and more.
"Traffic signals, brand new lighting. It'll be the work on the project. The cross-section will go from a four-lane section to a three-lane section and bike lanes will be protected by the curb lines up at the same grade as the sidewalks," explained Nolan Skipper.
So think of it as a combination of how Delaware Avenue is with one traffic lane in each direction and a turn lane in the middle and Niagara Street with protected bike lanes on each side.
And, you may have already noticed new lines being painted on parts of the road. That's because it's such a big project that construction will start next summer, but might not start in all areas until 2026 and lines were needed before that.
"With this size of a project, a lot of that timeline on how long will be contractor dependent, so the contractor will be selected over the winter, we'll break ground next season, and then we're hoping like a two to three season project," said Nolan Skipper.
Almost two years ago, Senator Chuck Schumer was here talking about the $25-million federal grant he was applying for to repair middle Main Street. The grant was awarded in August of 2022.
Tuesday, we learned that a total of $ 50 million in federal funding will allow the project to extend to Kensington and the work on middle Main will all be one project instead of being two projects with Ferry Street as the dividing line. They're close to the final design.
"New businesses, new apartments, and then you have, you know, the standard medical campus there, so it's a lot going on in that whole corridor that we're excited to bring a new streetscape project to," said Nolan Skipper.
If you'd like to learn more, there's a community meeting on Wednesday night from 5 until 7 at Canisius University. The city will do a presentation, then you'll be able to ask any questions you have.
