Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy shares new park updates

Buffalo, New York (WBEN) – The Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy provided construction updates to the Buffalo community Tuesday on the first phase of the two-phase, $110 million Ralph Wilson Park project, which includes more details on the new pedestrian bridge and the progress of the ambitious and transformative coastal project.

“Work began in July 2023, with a focus on the shoreline on the south end,” explained Katie Campos, executive director of the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy in an interview with WBEN.

“There used to be a hard cement dike that created a lot of flooding in the park, and that is being transformed into a natural sloping dike. This is where work really began, with an armored stone bank at the southern end and work to create an inlet to create breakwaters and natural habitat beyond, then the bridge foundations pedestrian, which will be delivered to the park this summer and installed above the highway.

Riparian works

Gilbane Building Company’s lead superintendent for this project, Sean Sullivan, further highlighted the work already completed on the waterfront project.

“We have built a line of armored stones that we use for naturalization, but also for protection. These stones are placed in such a way as to absorb bad weather, supporting the weight of the waves that have splashed all over the land. to condos.

Sullivan describes what they are building as a lagoon that will eventually be populated with new wildlife.

“We’re going to dig this kidney bean-shaped lagoon. As this work goes on, we can only do it in sections at a time. We have to take some out, and then because of the erosion, we need to stop. My demo team will then move to the west side of the park and work north on the shoreline while the stone laying team arrives and provides that additional protection inside the lagoon. So we will have a tandem demonstration team digging the creek and we would have a stone laying team rather than setting up the post.

“If you build it, they will come,” notes Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper. “The types of vegetation and the types of environments implemented in this area will also start to attract different species again. We don’t design the coastline to attract an individual species, a target species. We know that emerald shiners, which are truly the base of the food chain, will have better forage areas and may have space for potential habitat for musk and even sturgeon.

Pedestrian bridge

A new pedestrian bridge, which will serve as a central gateway connecting the park to Buffalo’s Lower West Side, is currently being manufactured in Italy.

Campos told WBEN that Cimolai, an international construction company headquartered just outside Venice, is manufacturing the bridge structure which is 265 feet long and 22 feet wide and will weigh approximately 220 tons.

It will be delivered by two barges across the Atlantic Ocean in late summer this year and will be installed in the fall.

“This is a massive undertaking,” Campos notes. “Gilbane and the city of Buffalo have been in close contact with the New York State Thruway Authority and with CSX because there’s a train going right by, and they’re going to have to close the highway. I think they They will be given up to 12 hours (to install it) and they will put up this new signature bridge and demolish the old bridge in one go.

Once the bridge is installed and the project is complete, you will soon be able to see the new rolling, elevated terrain that the park will offer, with more cycling and walking paths, upgraded sports fields and enough space for activities like kayaking .

Campos notes that this park will reopen in stages starting in 2026. She anticipates that the project will be a two-phase project.

Click here to see renderings of the project and bridge.