TONAWANDA, N.Y. – Your morning commute may get a little slower.
Two bridges on the I-290 near the Colvin exit will soon be replaced as part of a two-year, $6.7 million bridge replacement begins with a ramp closure April 2.
On April 2, the Colvin westbound on-ramp will close. Crossover lanes will be created, starting in May, so that both the westbound and eastbound sides will have two lanes of traffic open, and the DOT will lower speed though the area.
“These bridges were built in 1965, so they have approximately a 50 year useful service life,” said Susan Surdej, a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Transportation. “We’re beyond that now, so the new bridges that we're building will give us a useful service life of 75 years. Once we finish these bridge replacements, we should be good on the 290 [in that area] for quite some years to come.”
These aren’t the first bridges to be restored; the bridges over Delaware Avenue and Military Road have both been replaced over the last few years.
The DOT held a public information hearing at the Brighton Volunteer Fire Company Wednesday night for residents and commuters to voice their concerns and learn more information about the project.
Beth and Peter Hotchkiss, local residents, are uneasy about how this project will affect their commutes. Peter said he already has a hard time turning left on Colvin to get to work.
“All that traffic flow will affect me trying to get to my employment, and there’s only one road in and one road out where I work,” Peter Hotchkiss said.
Beth Hotchkiss said she will have to change her route to work to have enough time between dropping her child off at daycare and making it to work on time.
Connie Emerling, partner at BAC Women’s Athletic Club, is worried about her members being able to turn out of the gym’s parking lot because of the increase in traffic.
“We’re just making sure that people get out safe and get back home,” Emerling said.
Construction will happen during the daytime, avoiding nightly construction mostly, which residents complained about being during past bridge replacements because of loud overnight noise.