10/27/14: Poloncarz Announces Upcoming Road Work on Conner Rd.

Modified: January 23, 2015 4:24pm

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Date: 
10/27/14

Strip Patching to Fill Potholes, Smooth Surface; EC Continues to Seek Long-Term Solution with Town of Clarence

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz announced that the Erie County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division will take advantage of good late-season weather and available 2014 road repair funding to perform strip patching work on Conner Road in the Town of Clarence. Erie County continues to seek an agreement with Town officials that would transfer ownership of the 0.8-mile stretch of road to the Town following repair work funded and conducted by Erie County, and has allocated $500,000 to begin such work; however, the Town’s refusal to address Town-related drainage issues and take over the road when work is completed has stalled progress. The work announced today will begin this week on Conner and should be completed by the end of the week.

“It has been a very busy season for highway crews in Erie County, with dozens of projects happening in 2014. With the Winter months approaching I am pleased to authorize strip patching work to be done on Conner Road to fill potholes, smooth the road surface, and provide a better driving experience for residents,” said Poloncarz.  “Erie County has been prepared all year to do more extensive work on Conner but has been hindered by the Town’s refusal to address Town-related drainage issues and take over the maintenance of the road going forward. Conner Road residents pay as part of their Town taxes a fee to address drainage issues on their road, yet the Town refuses to fix their issue. It is an unfortunate situation and one that has caught residents in the middle, but we have made residents aware of the project’s status and Erie County stands by the terms of the proposed deal. We look forward to working with the Town when they decide they are ready.”

Conner is an example of one of approximately 200 miles of low-volume county-owned roads that could potentially be turned over to the municipalities they are in, rather than remain in the Erie County road inventory. These are residential-type roads that do not facilitate inter-town traffic; many of them are dead ends or isolated, segmented roads that do not connect to any other county road. Under the Erie County proposal, the county would invest $500,000 to resurface Conner Road and update current county drainage, while the Town is only asked to update Town-related drainage issues and then take over ownership of the road. Erie County also retained a consultant for the project to work on design and drainage options, take road cores, and develop paving options.

 

For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Public Works, visit  http://www2.erie.gov/dpw/