Erie County’s infrastructure plan is leading to major road work across the county.
That includes Hamburg, where renovation work already has started on parts of McKinley Parkway, and Maple Road in Amherst.
The county has budgeted just over $50 million to roadway maintenance this year, with a majority of that coming directly from the county. A majority of that money comes directly from the county, but federal issues could raise concerns for maintenance projects in the future, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.
“Congress has not come up with a new transportation bill, and they need to, that helps fund a lot of the projects that we do, so it's five years since the bipartisan infrastructure bill was passed in the Biden administration," he said. "There's been no infrastructure bill that was passed so far in Congress under the Trump administration.”
Not all projects are eligible for federal funds, but it can help save money on eligible work, so the county’s own money can be used on other infrastructure projects, Poloncarz said.
But roads aren’t the only infrastructure focus this time of year, Deputy Commissioner of Highways Karen Hoak said.
“We also have some bridge replacement projects that are going on, along with our road reconstruction," she said. "We've got five districts that do some in-house paving on some of the less traffic roads, so you're going to see those improvements. We just completed Pleasant Avenue in Hamburg.”
Even as spring draws into summer, concerns remain about weather because rain can slow progress, Hoak said.
"If we get a real rainy season, that's going to delay our paving, so the contractors and our in-house crews really schedule around the forecast, and get out there whenever the weather is dry and warm enough to pave," she said.
