For many students and University Heights residents, the fact that the end is in sight for construction on Main Street is as blissful as the end of winter. But even with the countdown to smoother roads and less traffic, new roadwork is causing many to gripe for convenience and also for their own safety.
One problem hotspot has been Northrup Place, which has been partially torn up because of the construction. The one-way street and treacherous driving conditions have not only been an inconvenience to drivers' schedules, some students have suffered physical damage to their vehicles. Others consider themselves lucky to have not been in worse accidents.
This is supposedly the final year of Main Street construction around UB's South Campus. The repairs are set to wrap up on May 15.
The Northrup area is the last phase of the construction that has been ongoing for years. The original plan for Main Street was designed in 1999 and is still being completed, with parts of the road once again resembling a cross between the Grand Canyon and a demolition zone.
Renee Haley, a recent UB graduate, couldn't believe that there was still roadwork being done two years since she had left school.
"This construction was going on when I first started when I was in Goodyear," Haley said. "I haven't been back on campus for over two years. This road work is never ending."
Other areas to avoid while making the commute include Winspear Avenue, which is currently subject to one-way travel and severe driving conditions. In order to avoid these delays there are alternate entrances to the South Campus, such as those at Michael and Sherman Roads, accessible off Bailey Avenue, according to university parking and transportation officials.
The shifts in South Campus traffic have made it hard for students forced to commute to the Main Street campus, clogging the Bailey Avenue corridor with traffic redirected by the roadwork.
"I have to like make other routes just to get to South Campus and I only go at certain parts of the day," said Jimmy Jin, junior mechanical engineering major.
Jin said he used to use South Campus's resources because it is more conveniently located for students living within Buffalo city limits, but construction has hurt his ability to use its resources, and forces him to drive further to North Campus.
"I avoid going to South Campus if possible," he said. "I live off campus, I live near Buff State, and it would be much easier to go to a library down (on South Campus), but I hate going to South Campus because of the construction."
Adjustments to daily commutes are hard enough for students driving to campus, but even bus-riders have been significantly inconvenienced with delays.
"It's very, very annoying. Especially when you're riding the bus down there and you just get stuck there for 20 minutes," said Thomas Erb, a junior computer engineering major. "You can get really heated."
Outside of convenience, students say they are concerned with the safety of driving through the construction, for both themselves and their cars.
"With cars you have to think about shocks and brakes and stuff, it could be dangerous to your car," said Quardean Lewis-Allen, freshman architecture major. "The buses just drive out there wildly, they could fly up and hit a car. I worry for my life."
After all is said and done, the project will have successfully installed new traffic lights, sidewalk replacement, install new water mains and will redo UB's main entrance, which is one of the final steps to the completion of this project.
While construction near Northrup Place should finish by mid-May, other loose ends created by this ongoing construction plan should be finished by mid summer.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
