The Middle Main Street project in Buffalo is almost finalized

BUFFALO, NY — 2 On Your Side is reporting on a major project to renovate a long stretch of Main Street in Buffalo, where construction is expected to begin next summer.

Middle Main Street runs from Goodell Street to Kensington Avenue, and news broke Tuesday that $50 million in federal funding will help pay for the project. For this reason, the project will now be done in a single phase instead of being split in two at Ferry Street.

“Obviously it needs new paving, new markings, new sidewalks,” said Nolan Skipper, Buffalo DPW city engineer.

And soon, Buffalo’s Main Street will have all this and more.

“Traffic lights, all new lighting. This will be the work of the project. The cross section will change from a four-lane section to a three-lane section and the cycle paths will be protected by the curbs at the same time. level as sidewalks,” said Nolan Skipper.

So think of it as a combination of Delaware Avenue with a travel lane in each direction and a turn lane in the middle and Niagara Street with protected bike lanes on each side.

And you may have already noticed new lines painted on parts of the road. Indeed, it is such a large project that construction will begin next summer, but may not start in all regions until 2026, although lines were needed before that.

“With this size of project, a lot of the schedule will depend on the contractor, so the contractor will be selected over the winter, we’ll start next season, and then we’ll hopefully have a two to three season project,” said Nolan Skipper.

Almost two years ago, Senator Chuck Schumer spoke here about the $25 million federal grant he was seeking to repair Main Street. The grant was awarded in August 2022.

On Tuesday, it was learned that a total of $50 million in federal funding will allow the project to extend to Kensington and that the work on Middle Main will all be one project instead of two projects with Ferry Street as a dividing line. They are close to the final design.

“New businesses, new apartments, and then you have, you know, the standard medical campus there, so there’s a lot going on throughout that corridor and we’re excited to come up with a new streetscape project” , said Nolan Skipper.

If you would like to learn more, there is a community meeting Wednesday evening from 5-7 p.m. at Canisius University. The city will make a presentation, and then you can ask any questions you have.