6/26/14: Rigorous Road Work Scheduled Across Erie County

Modified: January 23, 2015 3:58pm

Latest News

Date: 
6/26/14

$11.3 Million Plan Covers Dozens of roads, includes Mill & Overlay on Hopkins, Lake, Sowles, Pleasant; Extensive Oil & Chip Program, Micro Paving and Strip Patching also scheduled

Poloncarz Stresses Motorist Awareness, Safe Driving in Work Zones

ERIE COUNTY, NY— The Erie County Department of Public Works Highway Division has announced a rigorous schedule of summertime road work that will see numerous Erie County roads milled & overlayed (re-paved) with others scheduled to receive oil & chip repairs. In addition, micro paving will be conducted as well as strip patching and patching on dozens of roads. The road work totals over $11.3 million and is split into two schedules; the first will begin June 26 on Hopkins Road in Amherst while the second will begin in August on Sowles Road in Hamburg.

This road work is part of the more than $29.5 million in work being conducted in 2014, and is on top of the existing capital work on other County roads that was started in 2013 and which is continuing in 2014 such as the reconstruction of North French/Robinson Road.

“The Erie County Highway Department has already kicked the road work season into high gear and it will continue across the county during the summer months. Crews have already been busy patching and repairing roads after the harsh winter we endured, addressing road issues as quickly as possible, and this work will result in significant improvements to some heavily-traveled routes around our community,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “With 2,400 lane miles of road to maintain, Erie County has a large responsibility to repair our infrastructure. With $29.5 million designated for road work this year and over $60 million allocated in the past two years, my administration remains committed to fulfilling that responsibility and working to provide residents with the best roads possible.”

Occhino Corp. will commence mill and overlay work on June 26, beginning with Hopkins Road from Dodge to Plaza Drive. Other routes scheduled to receive mill and overlay under this contract include: Cayuga Creek Road from William to Harlem Road, Rowley Road from Indian to Borden, and Lake Avenue from McKinley Parkway to South Park. The cost of this contract is approximately $2.3 million.

The second schedule of road work, beginning in August and conducted by Amherst Paving, includes mill & overlay work on Sowles Road from Camp to McKinley; Bayview from McKinley to Abbott Road; Pleasant from Amsdell to Rte. 75; Eden Evans Center (Phase IV) from I-90 to Derby Road;  and Eckhardt from Rte. 75 to East Eden Road. The cost of this contract is approximately $3.2 million.

Poloncarz continued, “These mill and overlay, oil and chip, and micro paving programs are a part of the larger infrastructure plan for 2014, including over 60 individual projects in 20 municipalities. Earlier this year, I increased the county’s construction budget by $4.5 million in order to accommodate more projects such as these and expedite the process to get them moving. This is a large amount of work occurring all around the county, in addition to work being conducted by other municipalities, so motorists should be extra aware of road work zones and practice safe driving to keep themselves and all road crews safe.”

Highway crews will also be conducting $2 million in oil and chip repairs on approximately 81 miles of county roads. In the Aurora District, Blakely Corners, Knox, Mill Street, West Falls, and Willardshire in the Town of Aurora, along with Behm and Gartman roads in the Town of Orchard Park will be completed. Clarence District crews will be working on Carney, Cedar, Koepsell, Meahl, Scotland, and Steiner roads in the Town of Newstead as well as Peter’s Corners in the Town of Alden and Tonawanda Creek road in the Town of Clarence.  Crews from the East Concord District will focus on Moore, Sharp, Snyder, Wheeler, and Spaulding roads in the Town of Concord; Collins Center-Zoar and West Becker in the Town of Collins; and Pratham and Middle in the Town of Sardinia.  Oil and chipping will be conducted in five towns in the Hamburg District, with Bagdad, Old Bagdad, and Taylor Hollow/Aldrich in the Town of Collins; Brant Reservation in the Town of Brant; Chestnut Ridge, Rice, and West Tillen in the Town of Boston; Church in the Town of Eden; and Delamater /Mill and Delamater roads in the Town of Evans all scheduled for work.

County highway crews will also be conducting approximately $1.4 million in micro paving operations after oil and chipping has been completed. Roads targeted for micro paving include Center Street in the Town of Aurora, East River and Whitehaven Road in Grand Island, Boston State Road in the Town of Boston, and Seneca Creek Road in the Town of West Seneca.

Finally, using reserve funds recently allocated, county crews will be conducting extensive patching and strip patching work on dozens of roads all across the county. This will be done on an “as needed” basis determined by the local district engineers.

Poloncarz concluded, “We will be working to improve some of the worst roads in the county’s vast inventory, including highways that receive some of the most complaints in Erie County as part of our commitment to improving the infrastructure. I thank motorists for their patience and understanding as we conduct these projects.”