BUFFALO, N.Y. — The long-awaited reconstruction of Abbott Road in South Buffalo is expected to get underway this summer, some three years after funding was secured for the $10 million project.
The work to complete the entire two-mile stretch of Abbott involved in the overhaul, between Southside Parkway and the city line at Dorrance Avenue, may take three years to complete, according to South District Buffalo Common Council Member Christopher Scanlon.
“This is a complete infrastructure overhaul. So we’re talking about the street, sidewalks, curbs, lighting, the whole shot,” Scanlon said.
The work will be done in phases, with construction on the first stretch from Southside Parkway to Meriden Street beginning this summer.
According to Scanlon, crews will “skip over” the section in front of South Buffalo Mercy Hospital, and resume work from Potters Road to Dorrance Avenue in 2021, saving the section in front of the hospital for last, likely in 2022.
“Mercy Hospital is working on their overall plan and we want to see what we can do to aid them there,” said Scanlon, in explaining why the middle section of the project is being saved for last.
Busy Thoroughfare
Abbott Road in South Buffalo features a mix of residential and commercial properties.
According to LoopNet, an online marketplace for commercial property, a traffic measurement taken in 2018 indicated that roughly 10,000 vehicles traverse it on an average day.
“That street has not seen this level of investment since the early 1980’s,” said Scanlon. "I grew up a block off Abbott Road and I don’t recall any large-scale work since then, so it’s due.”
No Bike Lanes
According to Scanlon, the reconstruction does not involve the installation of permanent bike lanes, which are a growing trend when redesigning streets.
“It’s not wide enough for bike lanes and we have enough of them through the bicycle network,” said Scanlon. “We have them on South Park, we have them on McKinley, we have them on Legion Drive (North) and on Seneca, so we don’t need them there. It’d be nice to facilitate them but there are enough around and it’s just not wide enough.”