With the new school year in full swing, students traveling between North and South Campus are experiencing more than the usual delays thanks to heavy construction on Main Street.
The current construction on Main Street is the first in eight phases of a $15.3 million locally-administered federal aid project that began last May, according to Ron Mandell, resident engineer for Erdman, Anthony and Associates, the company working with the City of Buffalo to complete the project.
The intersection at Main Street and Bailey Avenue is undergoing what is known as "total reconstruction," Mandell said.
"Basically, we're building a totally new street from the foundation up. There will be a new foundation, new pavement, new traffic signals, new crosswalks -- everything," he said.
This particular phase of the project, which will also result in the construction of high-visibility raised crosswalks and crossing signals with countdown timers, is having the biggest impact on the traffic in and around South Campus.
"It certainly has caused buses to be delayed, especially in the morning, at lunch-time, and right around rush hours," said Chris Austin, adjudication and transportation coordinator for UB. "It also causes buses to bunch together, so the perception is that buses are running together."
As a result of these delays, university buses are being rerouted to Bailey Avenue at certain times to avoid congestion, Austin said.
"Between accidents and traffic lights being disrupted, we haven't received too many complaints. Our riders appear to be understanding of whatever delays there may be," Austin said.
Many students said they were unhappy with the recent delays.
"It's really annoying, because I live on South Campus and the delays often make me late to class," said Jessica Miller, an undeclared freshman. "You can sit at the traffic light for seven cycles and not move anywhere."
Martha Adams, a junior biopsychology major, echoed Miller's discontent.
"It's such a hassle when you're driving, because lanes are closed and poorly marked and it just gets really confusing," Adams said. "I've never even seen anyone out there doing construction. They just should've taken care of this when classes weren't in session. Plus, I'm just waiting for some drunk kid to fall in one of those big holes and get hurt."
The construction began with the installation with new storm sewers, which will allow storm lines to be separate from the sanitation lines. Previously, the storm and sanitation lines ran into a common sewage system, which had a number of leaks, according to Mandell. Once separated, the storm lines will be able to better handle the high volume of precipitation that is common to the Buffalo area.
In addition, Mandell said, there are stubs along the new storm line to which UB can connect its sewers when the university separates its sewage lines in a few years. The new connectors will alleviate basement flooding on-campus, a common problem that is caused by the storm drains backing up in times of heavy rainfall.
There will also be a separate driveway installed for both UB parking and the park and ride lot adjacent to South Campus, creating two exits and entrances, according to Mandell.
Along with new entrances and exits, center islands will be installed on Main Street, near Allenhurst and Capen Streets. These islands will be "traffic-calming measures," in effect helping to slow down traffic near campus, according to Mandel. Part of an effort to beautify the area, trees and bushes will be planted on these islands.
While the whole project's completion isn't scheduled until spring 2006, construction affecting South Campus should be completed in the next year.
"The intersection at Bailey and Main should be done in the spring of 2005," Mandell said. "When that's done, the construction around South Campus will be done."
In the meantime, Charles Whiff, a sophomore English major, is eager to see the project finished.
"I really can't wait until it's done. Even though I'm driving, the trip to South Campus takes twice as long because of the bottlenecking," he said. "Driving down there will be much easier once the construction is completed."
