BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to be in Buffalo on Friday to host a news conference in celebration of the $55 million grant to cap parts of Route 33, reconnecting the East Side of Buffalo with the Humboldt Parkway neighborhood.
The grant was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It will be used to cap about 4,100 feet of the expressway to “provide continuous greenspace and reestablish community character and cohesiveness,” reconnecting roads severed by Rt. 33’s construction.
In February, it was announced that the project would create a 6-lane tunnel extending from under Dodge Street to Sydney Street. Humboldt Parkway is set to be redesigned for cars, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists, with measures to calm traffic, crosswalks, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian and bicycle signals. The plan is also to include a tree-lined walkable linear park in the median with Victorian gardens, sidewalks, and benches, connecting it with Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
“The Kensington Expressway has divided neighborhoods in my hometown of Buffalo for many generations,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Thanks to new federal funding which builds on our State investment, we can advance our work to right these past wrongs.”
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The conference will take place at the Buffalo Museum of Science at 9 a.m. Joining Buttigieg will be Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Brian Higgins and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
While in Buffalo, Buttigieg is scheduled to meet with community members and leaders who have been advocating for the project since the late 1980s.