By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Transportation concerns for the Buffalo Niagara region were delivered to the State Department of Transportation Tuesday. The DOT is gathering input for its statewide, 25-year transportation master plan.
Some area businesses that rely on truckers to deliver products say border delays are hurting their bottom line. They testified at a DOT public hearing in downtown Buffalo Tuesday to deliver a plea for help for local transportation needs.
Kelly Brannen, managing director of NISEC Corporation in Niagara Falls -- a small chemical manufacture -- says just about everything the company ships out is transported by trucks. Brannen says truckers who face federal driving limits of 11 hours are losing transport time because of two to four hour border delays at area bridges. He says that is driving up company costs.
"We have some trucking companies that don't want to go into Canada because of some of the back ups," Brannen said. "The ones that do have driven up their costs $300 to $500 a load, which is dramatic when you are talking about products we sell that go for 30 to 40 cents a pound. You are really starting to increase the costs."
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Transportation Committee submitted a list of major area projects to the DOT. At the top of the list is the Peace Bridge. State DOT Commissioner Joseph Boardman listened to concerns at Tuesday's hearing. Boardman says that state will be part of future Peace Bridge decisions.
"I decided and the governor decided that the Peace Bridge is important and absolutely critical for the economy and of Western New York and Southern Canada. So I have become part of the process," Boardman said. "We are committed to making and helping the Peace Bridge get through EIS and finding a final decision for the bridge."
The Partnership committee is also advocating for the creation of an inland port in Buffalo to help ease congestion at port authorities in New York and New Jersey. And they are also calling on transportation agencies to work together in project funding decisions for not just roads and bridges, but rail and air as well.