Main Street construction nears end

Students and Buffalo residents alike can breathe a sigh of relief this spring, as the construction on Main Street, which has been ongoing since 2004, is finally nearing completion.

The three-year project, which included installation of new water mains, a new stone curb, new traffic lights, sidewalk replacement and new entrances to UB's Main and Bailey parking lot, is slated to finish mid-summer, according to John Bidell, project engineer for the City of Buffalo.

This is welcome news for students and community members who have felt the construction's effects.

"I'd just stay away from Main Street if I was driving because it was always impossible to get anywhere," said Bradley Latone, a freshman business major.

Lawrence DeMir, a senior civil engineering major, said the construction was a huge inconvenience and even caused damage to his car.

"Lanes were being closed as a result of the construction which limited people to utilizing only one lane instead of three," said DeMir. "I can remember on one occasion while traveling to Tops Supermarket that I hit a pot hole so hard that it shifted my wheel alignment. I had to maneuver the wheel to the left in order to drive the car straight and it cost me $80 to repair."

Construction at the Main Street and Bailey Avenue intersection has been completed and the Department of Transportation (DOT) is now finishing the Main Street overhaul.

"West Northrup to Allenhurst is all that is needed to be done," Bidell said.

The project was designed to increase the commercial corridor in the area, according to the Eggertsville Planning Action document for the project, but the construction has taken so long that the initial idea has actually backfired in some cases.

"Franchises and national chains are increasingly represented along this section of Bailey Avenue. In addition, a Burger King restaurant is located on the east side of Bailey," Keith Lucas, principal investigator for the Bailey Avenue project in September 1999, wrote in the planning document.

"The existing Burger King, a successful business, could remain at this location (Bailey Avenue) as part of a larger multi-story mixed-use development," the document stated.

Since the project started, the Burger King in question has actually closed, and no further developments have been built there.

DeMir said this effect really isn't surprising, since driving in the area is still a problem.

"The lines separating the lanes on the road are barely visible, and with the alterations that DOT has made to the roads, driving on it is quite confusing," he said.