Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Crews continue to work along Allen Street on the reconstruction project in Buffalo along the stretch between Delaware Avenue and Elmwood Avenue.
"The Allen Street construction project is moving along well," said Buffalo's Commissioner for the Department of Public Works, Michael Finn on Monday. "There's visual progress that's being made within that area - the curbs, the sidewalk, the actual base layer of the pavement is in - so residents and business owners can start to see the actual final shape of the road."
Earlier this year, construction on Allen Street began with the entire stretch between Delaware and Elmwood being closed off to traffic. This part of the project is considered Phase II that will see Allen Street get a complete facelift between Delaware and Wadsworth Street.
"This is a total reconstruction, where we are re-doing all of the utilities - the water, the sewer - and Verizon came through and re-did all of their lines in the area as well," Finn said. "That was a big request of the Allentown Association during the design of this, so that there would not be a situation where the road was getting dug back up in five or 10 years for the sewer and water. We're constructing this so this is a 30-year, at least, project, where people won't need to see anything get dug up for that timeframe. So that was part of what was happening I think before a lot of the visual work that just recently happened was occurring."
At this point of construction, Finn says the City of Buffalo is working with the contractor to determine the best course of action for the next steps of the project. However, the block between Delaware and Elmwood is expected to be finished by the end of the construction season.
In addition, there's some work to do at the intersection of Allen and Elmwood that Finn is confident can also be done this year.
As for the stretch of Allen Street between Elmwood and Wadsworth, that part of the project is still in limbo.
"We're going to be making a final call later, based on the contractor's progress," Finn said. "We don't want them to get started, they really can't get started until we can be confident they'll finish this construction season. And if we're not, we'll just hold that for next spring."
The good news for crews working on site is the weather has held up relatively well this season in order for more work to get done in a timely manner. Finn says there's an ongoing coordination with business owners on Allen Street to ensure that people are still able to gain access to the area with little to no issues.
"We work with the residents and business owners to balance the working as much as possible with the impact to their operations," he explained. "Working too late can sometimes have a negative impact. A lot of those businesses, restaurants, bars would prefer to see people not around during their peak hour once dinner starts."
While it has been a relatively easy process for construction crews to give people continued access to businesses and other residential areas in-and-around Allen Street, there have been some people locally in the past who have expressed some frustrations with the project and how construction will hamper business efforts going forward. However, Finn knows crews have to work optimal in their efforts to be able to get in and get out as quickly as possible.
"On all of our projects that are along business corridors, we have an assigned member of the construction consultant team, who works with the businesses to maximize the access and make sure that they can get deliveries and, as much as possible, be able to have their patrons get access," Finn said. "However, with all the construction work we do, we do need to get the work done and restrict some access for that project. Similar to the old saying about, 'You need to break an egg to make an omelet,' that's kind of the situation we're in, and continuing to work as quickly as possible to get through as the other part of it that we do just to minimize the impact."
As construction continues, sidewalks will continue to remain available throughout the duration of the project. Finn says that's one of the bare minimums built into the construction, as the City of Buffalo will not allow a contractor to completely shut everything down during the process.
"With that, plus signage to make sure that people understand that the roadway is not fully closed - it's available to pedestrians, and they can walk to the businesses that are there - that's a big part of the strategy that we put out in order to minimize the impacts of businesses during construction," he said.
Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN
Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN
Brayton J. Wilson - WBEN
More from our conversation with Finn is available in the player below:
