BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A public meeting was held at the Old First Ward Community Center on Tuesday night to start the discussion on reconstructing the Lousiana Street bridge in Buffalo.
$25 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the project which also includes improving the streetscape from Ohio to Seneca Street.
"The main component is the bridge replacement," said City of Buffalo DPW City Engineer Nolan Skipper. "It's one of our lowest-rated bridges in the area so we're happy to secure that funding for full replacement but also the streetscape; how it works for all users is important to people."
Earlier this year we spoke with Paul Buchanan who has lived near the Louisiana Street Bridge for more than 50 years and he said it's always been a problem. "It's awful," he told us. "It needed to be fixed 20 years ago. Not patched up. Fixed." You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
The city is looking at 2027 to 2029 for when the bridge gets fixed and when streetscape improvements become a reality with new lighting, sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
There was a brief presentation during the meeting, then a Q&A and then residents at the public meeting broke out into sessions.
"By having a concrete plan and the resources that are put in to do the bridge once and for all, will lead to less maintenance in the future. It's critically important that we get this right and that we move to a designed phase to not only better the health and safety of the bridge, which is one of the lowest graded bridges in the City of Buffalo but invest in this neighborhood," Fillmore District Council member Mitch Nowakowski explained.
Folks like lifetime resident Bill Conway are hoping for the best.
"There's been a lot of development down here in this neighborhood over the past three to 3 to 4 years," said Conway. "We're kind of worried about the parking problems and redoing Louisiana Street. We want to make sure it doesn't interfere with the neighborhood. Just make sure it's safe. That's my main concern. I've been involved in traffic for 42 years. I'm a retired State Trooper. Traffic is a big concern of mine."
"Narrow lanes and bump outs are not an option because this is how the trucks come into the city and get onto the 190," said Laura Kelly who has lived in the old first ward for 16 years. "We're still an industrial neighborhood. This is going to happen. If not, they'll go somewhere in South Buffalo where it's not safe to be."
She also mentioned how the condition of the roadways can impact the Shamrock Run, whose proceeds have supported the old First Ward Community Association for more than 40 years.
"If they put bump outs on the street, it can no longer be a sanctioned course. There is no race. There is no money for the children and the seniors," Kelly said.
Developer Bruce Andrews shared that he has to wait until construction starts in order to get his foundations in place in for an arch over Louisiana Street, along with other projects he has up his sleeve.
"I'm looking at purchasing the police station across the street and putting in a mini-mall, and Rail the Trails. They want to rent half of the building. Have their offices and equipment headquarters in the building," Andrews said.
The good news is the $25 million has already been secured.
City officials told me the design time is expected to take about two years and the goal is to have a shovel in the ground in 2027.
