SALAMANCA, N.Y. — Pothole season has arrived in Western New York.
And while just about anywhere in the region you can hear motorists grumbling about them, the level of frustration has reached new heights in the Southern Tier city of Salamanca.
“It’s grown far beyond rough,” 45-year resident Pete Weishan said. “The first thing that my out of town friends say is, ‘I can't believe your roads.’ "
Weishan is referring primarily to the main thoroughfares in the city, NYS Routes 219 and 417.
They are in disrepair, and they have been that way for several years, to the point of becoming bone-jarring for unsuspecting motorists.
As state routes, they are the responsibility of the New York State Department of Transportation.
Salamanca, however, lays within the confines of the Seneca Nation of Indian’s Allegany territory.
“We all know what it's about. It’s about the casino compact issues between the nation and (NY) Governor Cuomo," said Mayor Michael Smith, who is also a member of the Seneca Nation.
Though neither side will confirm that, he suspects the issues afoot here are the same as the ones that kept the Thruway from being repaired where it passes through the Seneca’s Cattaraugus territory for several years.
For now, Smith says the city will continue to try and cold patch the worst spots, amid a promise from the state to take over that work soon, and to fully repair its roads.
“I spoke with the DOT regional director this morning, and the start date has now been pushed forward a little bit. The contracts will be bid in August of this year, which means construction won't begin until spring of next year," Smith said.
Conditions along a portion of Route 219, known as Central Avenue in the city, got so bad that city crews recently shut down a lane of the southbound stretch near Hickory Street, only to be told by the state that the city had no authority to do that.
“There’s been numerous people that have had damage to their tires, or who have actually gotten into accidents while trying to dodge the potholes,” Weishan said.
According to Smith, many residents are now dodging entire streets, to the detriment of others.
“That forces the traffic onto the residential side streets in the city, which aren’t equipped to handle it," he said.
Of particular concern, Smith said, is a section of Highland Avenue that motorists are now using to avoid crater like portions of Route 219.
“That’s where we have a beautiful new playground built with funds from the Ralph C. Wilson foundation,” he noted.
“It’s become very popular for children to play there … and instead of a car occasionally going by that playground, there's now bumper to bumper traffic. We're gonna lose a kid."