Road construction projects under way in Erie County

Construction has started north of Kensington Avenue along Harlem Road in Cheektowaga and will move south during the next two years. Jimmy's Restaurant will be torn down as part of the project and two round- a-bouts will be installed at the Amherst border. Photo by John Rusac Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

There are several construction projects taking place throughout Erie County that will have motorists sitting in traffic or finding alterative routes.

The following is a guide to knowing which construction projects will be sharing the road with residents this spring and summer.

Harlem Road

In early April, DiPizio Construction began the $20.4 million, two-mile long Harlem Road reconstruction project.

Extending from Harlem Road's intersection with Genesee Street to the Wehrle Drive and Kensington Avenue crossings, the project is scheduled for completion in December 2008.

New state Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Susan Surdej said DiPizio has completed installation of the main water line along Harlem Road. She said the company plans to test the waterline for tightness and disinfection on Harlem north of Aurora Drive.

The section of roadway from the Buffalo Drive-In to Aurora Drive has already been tested and approved. Surdej said area residents should not be affected by the testing.

Surdej said DiPizio will begin widening Harlem Road within the next several weeks and will be shifting traffic south of Maryvale Drive to allow the installation of curbs, new asphalt and drainage.

"They will also be working on installing a retaining wall under the Kensington overpass," Surdej said. "This will allow pedestrian access underneath the bridge."

She added that the project is on schedule and DiPizio has not incurred any major difficulties.

When completed, Harlem Road will have new sidewalks, masonry walls, decorative lighting and roundabouts.

Transit Road

Motorists traveling on Transit Road between Main Street and Areo Drive can expect longer delays than usual as the DOT begins a reconstruction project.

The project is under way, and completion of the approximately two-mile reconstruction project is slated for Dec. 31, 2009.

In March, Clarence town engineer Joe Latona and Susan Surdej, public information officer for the DOT, spoke with the Bee Group Newspapers regarding the reconstruction project.

"The hours of operation (for the project) are going to be probably from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather-dependent," said Latona, "The DOT has stated that they will be meeting with businesses (which are located) along the way, the State Police and will notify the Town of Clarence (as well as other towns) of future meetings."

"This year, they will be dead-ending two streets that come out onto Wehrle Drive which include McKinley and Harding," Surdej said. "They will be building a new road that will be behind the Cracker Barrel and comes out near Protocol (restaurant)."

Surdej added that most of this year's construction will concentrate on drainage which is typically done off to the side of the road and will not impede traffic.

"Drivers shouldn't expect any major lane closures this season," Surdej said. "There may be an occasional lane closure if they have to work at the side of the road, but nothing major is scheduled as of now for this construction season."

Latona added that access roads to businesses located in the reconstruction stretch will be built to accommodate the shops.

As to the degree of backups and road work in the coming months, Latona said he couldn't be certain.

"Yes, there are going to be delays, and it's certainly going to be disruptive, but to what degree I don't know,"

Latona said of the initial work planned for this year, motorists might not experience too much of an impact from the construction, however as the project moves forward, delays are inevitable.

Route 33 and 198

A $2.6 million project is underway by Oak Grove Construction on Route 33 at the former Fillmore Avenue onramp. The project will remove the ramp to the inbound 33, which has been closed for a year. The right lane to the 198 will be reconstructed with a 450-foot extension of the acceleration lane at Grider Street.

This will allow for easier transitions at the Grider Street inbound ramp, the 33 and the 198 off ramp. Previously, therehadbeenmany conflict points. The right lane, which is currently closed, is expected to open in a month.

Interstate 90

The State Thruway Authority provides weekly updates on lane closures on its Web site, www. nysthruway. gov.

Road work is scheduled between exits 48A-Pembroke and 50-Williamsville. The left lane will be closed and minimal delays are expected - traffic moving at posted rate.

The Thruway changed it scheduled lane closure times earlier in May to avoid rush hour. According to the Thruway Authority, the pavement repair project between interchange 48A (Pembroke) and interchange 49 (Depew), both eastbound and westbound, has been changed to a nighttime schedule to reduce the impact on motorists and travel delays. The new times are 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. throughout the duration of the project, schedule and weather permitting. The project is slated for completion in August.

Message signs have been activated to inform motorists of the lane closures.

Town of Clarence

Summer roadwork in the town will not drastically affect travel for residents, according to Highway Superintendent Ted Donner.

One ongoing project that is slated for completion this summer is the Northfield Road reconstruction.

"This was a large project for us as we have installed almost two miles of drainage pipe to eliminate a deep ditch and now the drainage work is complete," Donner said. "The road rebuilding on the south end is complete, and the north end will be completed in July - subject to work schedule of our subcontractor.

The Clarence Hollow is currently undergoing a sewer installation project, which Donner said might affect travel on some of the streets.

"In order to maintain the aesthetics of the Hollow area I am allowing the sewers to be installed in the actual road," he said. " The alternative would be removing hundreds of old trees. "By doing this, traffic has been rerouted for the most part and the contractors have been courteous with motorists."

The sewer installation project began approximately four weeks ago.

"It should be completed in about a month depending on how much rock is encountered during trenching," Donner said. " The trenches will be covered with asphalt binder and allowed to settle for a year. Next year, we will resurface the roads affected by this project."

Town of Lancaster

Town officials have $500,000 to redirect for roadwork now that Townline Road reconstruction has been put on hold.

Leaders have decided to replace 12,600 linear feet of water main along the road, so reconstruction will be rescheduled to next year, Highway Superintendent Richard Reese said.

The decision leaves the town with half a million dollars to spend elsewhere this construction season, and a meeting will be held Friday, June 8 to re-allocate the money. Preliminary plans call for a mill-and-fill project on Aurora Street and a "recycle" for Penora Street, in which the roadway is ground up, mixed with new material and put back down.

Several side streets also will be reconstructed beginning June 6, but the effect on traffic is expected to be minimal.

Pheasant Run, Idlebrook Court, Partridge Walk and Squirrel Run will be milled and re-paved, while Siebert Road will be resurfaced. If money is left over, West Home Road also will be resurfaced.

Reese said the work should not cause traffic delays because the streets are not near major roadways.

"I'm hoping to have it done by Sept. 1," he said.

Town of West Seneca

Road construction in West Seneca should cause little imposition to motorists during the summer months.

Three projects for secondary streets are planned, according to Town Engineer George Montz.

The first is expected to commence in mid-June on Wenro Place and Forrestal Lane, side streets off Indian Church Road in the northwest section of town.

This total reconstruction project, funded with a Community Development Block Grant, will include new asphalt pavement, under drains, storm sewers, curbs and gutters. New sidewalks will be added to Forrestal Lane. Work will take about a month, Montz said.

Total reconstruction is planned for Knox Avenue, also a side street that intersects with Indian Church and Mineral Springs roads.

In addition to the road and curb construction along the 3,200-foot street, a new water main will be installed.

While the construction on Wenro, Forrestal and Knox will involve road closures, they will not likely cause concern for most drivers as these are not main thoroughfares.

The third project is Leydecker Road, a secondary route running between Southwestern Boulevard and Seneca Street.

Six hundred feet of new watermain will be installed along the west side of the road from Southwestern to just past a pump station, which fills a nearby water tower on East & West Road.

Montz does not anticipate any closure of Leydecker, as the work will take place along the edge of the road.

East Aurora

Main Street in East Aurora will be under construction starting this summer and is slated to be completed in 2009.

The project extends from the west village line near the post office, 408 Quaker Road, to east of the route 400 interchange.

Information

Information on all NYSDOT projects can be found at www.nysdot.gov. Traffic updates are available at www.travelin fony. com.