“Buffalo has talked for years about removing 1950s-era highways that harmed neighborhoods,” reports Mark Sommer for The Buffalo News. “Down the road in Rochester, they’re doing it.”

“A stretch of sunken highway that ran two-thirds of a mile east of downtown, known as the Inner Loop East, was filled-in last year, creating six acres of undeveloped land and a smaller, at-grade, four-lane roadway. That is reuniting the East End neighborhood, including Monroe and Park avenues, with downtown’s business district, enhancing walkability, and returning land to the tax rolls.”

“The $21 million project is also generating tens of millions in economic development and bringing more vitality to a formerly moribund section of downtown. Two years from now, upscale, market-rate and affordable apartment units, a hotel and shops, along with an expansion of the Strong National Museum of Play are expected to be hubs of activity where the walled-in highway stood.”

“‘This project is repairing the urban fabric and restoring the street grid by knitting back together a section of the city that was previously separated,’ said Robert Stark, a Buffalo-based partner with CJS Architects, part of the project’s planning team.”

“‘These projects are always challenging, and there are a lot of players involved in making something like this happen,’ Stark said. ‘But this obviously shows it can be done, with a positive benefit to the entire city.'”

“…Stark, who grew up in South Buffalo and works in the Larkin District, is familiar with calls for removing or decking over the Kensington Expressway, also known as the 33, or tearing down the 110-foot-tall Buffalo Skyway along Route 5.”

“‘Buffalo has its own challenges that are related to some of these ’50s-era transportation initiatives, as do many cities around the country,’ Stark said.”

“‘The main thing is, this shows it can be done.'”

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