BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz unveiled the 2019 road work agenda for county public works crews while highlighting the more than $40 million investment in roads and bridge projects this fiscal year.
The $40,038,325 million marks the most spent in a single year during his administration. Those projects will be divvied within the county's five regions.
"We do invest in our roads," Poloncarz said. "We hear a lot of people complaining about them but they don't realize Erie County is the equivalent of a small state. It is the same geographical size as the State of Rhode Island that we own and control."
Poloncarz said that people "can't have it both ways" regarding taxes decreating with an increase in road repair.
"We were working in 2012, 2013, and 2014 off of the capital budget plan that was primarily created during the Collins administration," Poloncarz said. "We increased it as time went by...What we ended up finding out were that a lot of roads that started degrading at the same time. That was the biggest problem."
Some of the large projects planned for 2019 include a $3 million reconstruction of East and West Road in the Town of West Seneca between Union and Leydecker. Additionally, North and South Main Street in the Village of Angola will be worked on this year at a price tag of $2.5 million. Lake Avenue from Route 5 to South Park Avenue will receive $1.5 million in reconstruction while more than $1 million will be used to fix Abbott Road in front of New Era Field between Milestrip and Big Tree Road. Old Lakeshore Road in Evans will receive $500,000 in funding for drainage rehabilitation and replacement between Big Sister Creek and Hickory.
Abbott Road off Milestrip in Orchard Park will also be addressed and Poloncarz said this work is expected to be finished by the time the Buffalo Bills begin preseason play in August.