For drivers using North Campus' Rensch Road entrance, construction will become a regular obstacle early next year as part of an effort to alleviate the dangers from what has historically been an accident-prone intersection.
The roadwork, which will completely reconstruct the intersection at Rensch and Sweet Home Road, is expected to begin in February and will be a two-year project.
In the words of the New York State Department of Transportation, the construction is being done to "improve mobility, safety and drainage along Sweet Home Road." The work will also include widening Sweet Home Road and adding additional turning lanes at some intersections from Maple Road to South Ellicott Creek Road.
"We're in a review stage now," said Thomas Messana, assistant regional design engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation.
Bids from construction companies to take on the project were made last Thursday, and if everything stays on track, "work would begin by mid-February," Messana said.
The project will be divided into three major zones along Sweet Home Road; Maple Road to Rensch Road, Rensch Road to Interstate 990 and Interstate 990 to Ellicott Creek Road. A majority of the work will be between Rensch Road and Interstate 990, including full reconstruction and widening. The work will also include the construction of a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.
A raised and landscaped median - about the same size as ones along Sheridan Drive in Amherst - is also a part of the plan for the Sweet Home Road construction.
Captain Enzio Villalta of the Amherst Police Department, who commands the town's Traffic Bureau, said he believes that the reconstruction will help lower the accident rate at the Rensch/Sweet Home intersection.
But cautious driving, he said, is still the primary means of avoiding crashes.
"It's not a difficult intersection to maneuver through," Villalta said. Because of the backed-up traffic at the light, however, "people get anxious and try to squeeze though the light. It's just a matter of being patient."
Andrew Reiser, a sophomore history major who drives on and off campus regularly, said he experiences other drivers' lack of patience at the Rensch Entrance all the time.
"Some idiot almost hit me once. As long as people drive like maniacs or are in a rush they will run the light and cause potential for accidents," Reiser said. "Leaving campus, I always double check my mirrors (and) make sure everyone is stopped."
Villalta said the construction will help reduce incidents at the intersection because it will better control the traffic flow and let drivers get through quickly.
"If drivers can get from point A to point B faster, they're less likely to violate the law," Villalta said.
"I think it's a long time coming," said John Grela, director of UB Public Safety.
Although the intersection is in the Amherst police jurisdiction, NYS University Police often provide backup or respond to calls there because of its close proximity.
In response to concerns about disrupted traffic flow because of the construction, Grela said, "I don't see any problem, except for people being annoyed that they have to slow down in the construction zone."
He suggested that drivers consider alternate routes into campus, especially during mid-day heavy traffic, when they come back from winter break.
The lane closures on Sweet Home Road will be temporarily supported by extra lanes added in the shoulders, keeping two lanes of traffic moving during all phases of the work.
At the Rensch Entrance, northbound drivers on Sweet Home Road will have four lanes at the light; one for left turns, one for right turns, and two for through-traffic. Southbound drivers will have two through-lanes and a dedicated left-turn lane onto campus.
Rensch Road will have five total lanes: two entering campus, and three exiting. Leaving campus, the left lane will be dedicated for left turns, as it is now, the center lane will be for left turns and for through-traffic, and the right lane will be dedicated for right turns only.
So far, the entire project is on budget and on schedule. Construction will probably be days only, as night construction - like that on Interstate 290 in recent months - would be disruptive to residential areas along Sweet Home Road.
Messana said he is excited about the future for the Rensch/Sweet Home intersection.
"When it's done, it's not going to look at all like it does today," he said.
