NYSDOT proposes improvement project to portion of Milestrip Road in Hamburg

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Hamburg residents made their voices heard Tuesday at meeting on a proposed improvement project to a portion of Milestrip Road, stretching from Route 5 to the I-90.

Officials said the planned upgrades would improve safety and ease traffic, which most residents WIVB News 4 spoke to agreed would do.

Engineers on the federal and state-funded project said the goal is to reduce congestion on Milestrip Road at the intersections on South Park Avenue and the I-90 ramp.

To do that, they plan to add right turn lanes on South Park Avenue along with east and westbound turn lanes to the I-90.

“As far as the freeway entrance, because in the morning you'll see the traffic backed up all the way to South Park and then some, so it should help,” resident Donna Suto said.

“The congestion is the problem out here. When the thru traffic is blocking the turn lanes, obviously you can't get people moving into those turn lanes, so those will be lengthened, and then additional turn lanes will be added,” said Susan Surdej, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Transportation.

All hanging traffic lights are also being replaced by poles in case of extreme wind, DOT engineers said.

An additional area will be made on the shoulder for snow storage and sidewalks across the route will be replaced by ADA-compliant curb ramps.

“Making sure the curb ramps are installed and they're at the right pitch and we have continuous sidewalks throughout the project," Surdej said. "So those are all things that we consider when we do a project like this."

Pedestrian safety was a talking point for residents who attended the meeting.

According to a DOT study, from 2019 to 2022 along the project route, there was a total of 82 accidents, a majority of which were rear-end collisions, with no fatal or pedestrian accidents.

The Suto family, who has lived on Harrison Road for six decades, said there have been no pedestrian accidents because of fear. 

“I'll tell you, I don't walk it anymore because you've got to run across four lanes of traffic to get across signal and you know, you got right on red or you get left and the red signal -- people don't stop and it's dangerous,” Suto said.

Two-way traffic will continue during construction. The Sutos said they have concerns about the noise, but they are happy to put up with it for an overall improvement.

The project is currently on pace to begin construction in the spring of next year with it set to be completed in fall of 2026.