Higgins: $25 million federal grant for transformation of Main Street in Buffalo

Project focuses on middle Main Street between Goodell Street & Kensington Avenue

Congressman Brian Higgins announced a $25 million federal grant for a project that will transform a section of Main Street in the City of Buffalo.

“Main Street is the City of Buffalo’s backbone, and this infusion of federal funding will strengthen the standing of businesses and neighborhoods all along this stretch,” Higgins said. “This $25 million project makes infrastructure investments that better support the needs of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, while laying the groundwork for future private sector economic investment.”

The funding is provided through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, a highly competitive infrastructure grant program, previously called TIGER and BUILD grants, offered through the U.S. Department of Transportation. In Western New York, the program has helped fund Buffalo's “Cars Sharing Main Street” project and the new Amtrak Train Station in Niagara Falls.

Middle Main Street

The City of Buffalo applied for a grant for a middle Main Street project, which will rehabilitate Main Street between Goodell Street and Kensington Avenue. The 2.5-mile project intends to transform the deteriorated four-lane roadway into three lanes: one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. Using complete street design features, the new road design will include raised cycle tracks for bicycle travel, as well as bump-outs, push buttons, countdown timers and other measures to improve pedestrian crossing infrastructure. The project also maintains parking on both sides of Main Street and adds decorative lighting with LED bulbs. The improvements aim to bolster connectivity between the west and east sides of Main Street, as well as the city as a whole.

This new $25 million investment will complement other work along Main Street.

Higgins and Mayor Byron Brown were recently joined by New York State Sen. Tim Kennedy and Assembly member Crystal People-Stokes to announce $54.5 million in funding to continue the “Cars Sharing Main Street” project, which stretches from the 700 Block of Main Street to Lower Main at Canalside.

A total of $2.275 billion in funding was available for RAISE grants nationwide this year. The “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” included $1.5 billion for RAISE grants. Congress included an additional $775 million for the program through the FY2022 Appropriations Act. The program promised to invest a minimum of $35 million in areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities.