For Immediate Release:02/10/2016

Contact:

Susan S. Surdej, P.E. | | (716) 847-3239 | (716) 523-3593 cell

STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EXPEDITING

SCAJAQUADA CORRIDOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTPROJECT

Construction Contract Expected 2017

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Matthew J. Driscoll tonight announced plans to accelerateand fund a project toimprove safety and transformNew York Route 198 – the Scajaquada Expressway – from an expressway to an urban boulevard that is in harmony with thesurrounding community in the city of Buffalo, Erie County. The planwould result in a construction contract in 2017.

“Governor Andrew Cuomo led the way on the Scajaquada Corridor last spring when he ordered a speed limit reduction to improve safety for everyone who travels it.” Commissioner Driscoll said. “The State Department of Transportation is committed to further enhancing the safety of the corridor, working with the community to make the roadway fit into the historic park it traverses, and expediting the project so that construction can get underway.”

Governor Cuomo ordered NYSDOT to reduce the speed limit on the Scajaquada Expressway from 50 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour on May 31, 2015, a day after a 3-year-old boy was killed when a car jumped the curb and struck the child inside Delaware Park. The Governor this week directed NYSDOT to commit funding to expedite a transformative safety improvement project on the corridor.

NYSDOT and the Federal Highway Administration are in the midst of a detailed environmental review about redesigning the roadway. That review alone could have taken up to six more years. The plan announced today will significantly accelerate that schedule.

Commissioner Driscoll, leading a public information meeting about the corridor at the Bulger Communications Center at Buffalo State College, said NYSDOT will make additional short-term traffic calming improvements on the corridor this spring as it

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continues to work with the community to reach a decision about the larger project by the

end of this year. The goal is to have a construction contract in place in 2017 with construction to follow. Major work is expected to get underway in the 2018 construction season.

Based on public comments and meetings with local elected officials and community leaders, NYSDOT is narrowing the project focus to evaluating the feasibility of turning the Scajaquada Expressway into a low-speed, urban boulevard with two lanes in each direction. It will be in keeping with the aesthetic of Delaware Park and will provide accommodation for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Public participation remains essential to the development of a final project alternative. Project details will be the focus of discussions throughout the coming year.All public comments will be considered in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement being developed. Additional meetings with the public and interested parties will be held before the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is published this fall and made available for review and comment. A formal public hearing about the draft will be held and all the comments received about it will be considered in the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

In addition to lowering the speed limit to 30 miles per hour, NYSDOT has implemented a number of interim measures to further calm traffic along the Scajaquada Corridor. Other improvements will be completed this spring.

Traffic calming measures already completed include:

  • The roadway was striped to narrow the travel lanes from 12 feet to 11 feet.
  • Crosshatching was installed on wide areas of the shoulders to provide additional visual cues to motorists
  • “Stop” signs were installed to replace “merge” signs at ramps
  • Temporary electronic flashing speed notification signs were installed.
  • Ironwood guiderail was installed along sections of the corridor in Delaware Park to further separate vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

NYSDOT will engage the community on the best way to move forward on some of the additional traffic calming improvements being implemented. The additional interim measures include:

  • Installing temporary gateway signs on each end of the corridor to provide a sense of entry.
  • Restriping and narrowing the westbound travel lanes on the east end of the corridor to calm traffic further.
  • Installing rumble strips in the eastbound travel lanes on the west end of the corridor to assess their effectiveness in calming traffic there.

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  • Installing additional electronic variable message signs and speed indicators to reinforce the 30 mile per hour speed limit. Moving them periodically will help ensure that motorists pay attention to them.
  • Installing permanent “Reduced Speed Ahead” signs with flashing beacons to provide advanced warning of the lowered speed limit.
  • Initiating discussions with the City of Buffalo to explore the possibility of a separate project to improve safety at the intersection of Main St., Kensington Ave. and Humboldt Parkway.

For further information, including project updates, please visit the project website at

Follow New York State DOT on Twitter: @NYSDOT and @NYSDOTBuffalo. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/NYSDOT.

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