With southbound traffic inching slowly down Union Road behind them, officials announced today that paving will be done this week in a continuing $1.3 million project along one of West Seneca's main commercial thoroughfares.
Work on the 1.2-mile section of the road, from the bridge that crosses Cazenovia Creek to the ramps of the Aurora Expressway [Route 400], was "long needed," said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. "It's an investment in the Town of West Seneca."
The 2005 federal highway bill is paying $800,000 toward the work, with the rest coming from New York State.
State Sen. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, noted that Higgins has been in the forefront of securing such federal monies. "This is obviously an extraordinarily important business and commercial strip," he added.
Higgins and Kennedy are seeking re-election this fall to Congress and the state Senate, respectively. They were joined at this morning's news conference outside West Seneca Town Hall by Town Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan.
Darrell F. Kaminski, regional director of the state Department of Transportation, said the project will be completed by late November; trees won't be installed until the planting season begins in October.
Additional work on the project, which began two weeks ago, includes narrowing traffic lanes to accommodate bicycles, updating pedestrian crossings to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act, partial sidewalk replacement and new signs.
