Congressman Higgins’ Letter to the NYS DOT about the Skyway
Thomas J. Madison, Jr.
Acting Commissioner
New York State Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Rd.
Albany, NY 12237
Re: Buffalo Skyway
Dear Commissioner Madison:
Let me first congratulate you on your recent appointment. Your reputation for professionalism and vision precedes you, and, as a new Member of House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I look forward to working closely with you to make a meaningful and positive impact on the transportation system in Western New York in the very near term.
I am writing to respectfully request that the NYSDOT commence an EIS to study alternatives to the Buffalo Skyway. The funding for the study can be designated from the $22.36 million in federal transportation funds which are available for access improvements at the Buffalo Outer Harbor, while still allowing for the design and construction of meaningful improvements to vehicular access to Buffalo’s waterfront.
Last Thursday’s Buffalo News quoted DOT spokesperson Jennifer Post as saying that “Long-term alternatives to the Skyway continue to be a consideration, but so far have not garnered local support or found it to be cost-effective.”
The DOT needs to be aware that public support for alternatives to the Skyway is very significant and widespread. Here are just a sampling of the many examples of demonstrated local support for alternatives to the Skyway (copies are attached):
- Then-Buffalo Mayor James Griffin commissioned a study of tunnel alternatives and advocated for replacing the Skyway with a tunnel, “City studies tunnel link to waterfront,” Buffalo News, June 13, 1989.
- Letter from then-Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski to the NYS DOT advocating, in part, for the study of alternatives to the Skyway, September 25, 1991.
- Letter from Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello to the NYS DOT advocating skyway removal, November 8, 2002.
- “Getting the Skyway out of the way,” Buffalo News Editorial, November 15, 2002.
- “Skyway is unsafe, must be replaced,” The Buffalo News, Letter to the Editor by Robert J. Penders of the Buffalo Police Department, December 1, 2002.
- Resolution of the Erie County Legislature calling for the study of Skyway alternatives, June 5, 2003
- Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Buffalo, February 3, 2004
- “Tear the Skyway Down” Business First Editorial, July 22, 2005.
- Letter from me to then-Commissioner Boardman requesting a Skyway EIS, February 19, 2003.
- “Milwaukee set example to raze Skyway” Donn Esmonde column, The Buffalo News, this morning.
Not only is it apparent to Buffalonians that we need to explore alternatives to the Skyway, but nationally-recognized waterfront development experts agree as well. Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, who is credited with the revitalization of his City’s waterfront, was in Buffalo recently giving an address to a group of concerned citizens at the Nichols School. A participant asked him, if he were charged with improving Buffalo, what is the first thing he would do. He stated, without hesitation, that his first priority would be replacing the Skyway. A similar move in Milwaukee helped spark a new era of waterfront development there.
It appears that replacing the Skyway with more suitable infrastructure will make sense fiscally for Western New York in the long run. The Skyway requires decennial painting which costs $15 million, and it has been conveyed to me that it will require major substructural repairs which will require as much as $100 million in the years to come. I understand that even as I write, the Skyway is undergoing $9 million in structural repairs and $15 million in painting. Given this, an analysis of the alternatives, including a series of lift bridges to more efficiently distribute traffic throughout downtown Buffalo, needs to be considered.
To further these discussions, I would appreciate it very much if you would convey the following information to my Buffalo office as soon as possible:
- A listing, including dates and dollar amounts, of all Skyway-related construction, repairs, and maintenance work, from its construction to the present, no matter how large or how small.
- A listing, including dates and dollar amounts, of all Skyway-related construction, repairs, and maintenance work which is projected or planned in the future, no matter how large or how small.
- A listing of the dates and durations of all skyway closings, for as long as records are available.
Using my position on the Transportation Committee, I look forward to working closely with you and your colleagues at NYSDOT on this issue, and on Western New York’s transportation needs generally. In my new role as a Member of Congress, I am focused, as I was while a Member of the New York State Assembly, on funding real projects in Western New York and bringing them through to design, construction and completion. I am confident that NYSDOT will be a true partner in these efforts.
Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Brian Higgins
Member of Congress