Tonawanda Creek Road has plans to be fixed

Neighbors on Tonawanda Creek Road will be relieved to know there is a plan to fix the slope failure affecting the road and the front of their properties.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, members of the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council ("GBNRTC") and representatives of the Erie County Department of Public Work's Highways Division announced federal funding through the Transportation Improvement Program ("TIP") to help fund road work.

According to Poloncarz's office, GBNRTC approved a $9.4 million allocation for Tonawanda Creek Road Rehabilitation and Slide Area Stabilization.

"Tonawanda Creek Road is not a quick or an easy fix and will require extensive work to not only resurface the road but more importantly stabilize it to prevent further sliding," said Poloncarz. "This is a far more costly, intensive and involved rehabilitation process than what we normally see when our roads are repaired and repaved."

A section of Tonawanda Creek Road between Westphalinger and Northfield roads suffered slope failure in June 2014. The shoulder of the road slid into the Tonawanda Creek with a gradual caving that continues today. The road has been closed to all traffic, with only limited access for the eight homes on the affected stretch of road.

Poloncarz's Office says a soil study showed that the affect of the slope failure could extend beyond the road and into the front yards of the homes of the area, and, in some cases, even all the way up to the homes themselves.

The study also showed the best way to repair the road would be with a soil mixing and stabilizing option that would allow the roadway to be rebuilt in its current location.

The funding approval from GBNRTC is for both Erie and Niagara counties affected along the Tonawanda Creek Road, according to Poloncarz.

The plan is expected to be a multi-year project.