Storm Causes Significant Damage to Sea Wall

Sea Wall
Photo credit (WBEN Photo/Brendan Keany)

BUFFALO (WBEN) - City of Buffalo officials expect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park to be closed for the next several days as crews attempt to fix damage brought on by last week's storm.

"The storm that hit last week Wednesday into Thursday, a lot of ice was pushed up over the sea wall in Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park," said Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Mike Finn. "That ice is starting to melt, and what we're seeing are a number of areas that are showing signs of caving in along the water's edge."

Last week’s storm created a significant amount of damage to the sea wall at Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. As a safety precaution, city officials are closing the park starting at about 4pm, and the maintenance will last several days. @NewsRadio930 pic.twitter.com/rSNslgV9bq

— Brendan Keany (@BrendanKeany) March 3, 2020

As a precaution to the public, Finn says the park will be closed (effective starting around 4 p.m. Tuesday).

"It's common that after a storm we'll see one of two areas that show signs of caving in, and we're able to address those with our crews in our normal course of business," said Finn. "This is above and beyond that, and that's why we're taking this initial precaution to close the park so that we can take the necessary steps to make it safe as soon as possible."

Finn believes the damage was especially bad this go-round because of the amount of ice that was pushed up over the sea wall, and the ice was simply sitting there waiting to melt, which Finn notes is not something they're accustomed to seeing.

"The water is about one to two feet higher than it normally is," Finn added. "As a result, any time a wind storm comes through, it causes the lake to push water up, and it's already one to two feet higher, so it's coming right up into (Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park) and causing some of the issues that we've been seeing throughout this winter."