Bill Casale thought the entertainment complex he runs along the Buffalo River was finally set for a summer free of interruption.
The Buffalo RiverWorks CEO and patrons of the restaurant, concert hall and event venue will have to continue to wait as they contend with a bridge repair project that will further complicate traffic in an already bottlenecked area.
The Buffalo Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets last week sent a letter to businesses on Kelly Island that the Michigan Avenue Lift Bridge will close to pedestrian and vehicle traffic for repairs starting Tuesday. The closure is expected to last until the end of September.
“It kind of deflates you,” Casale said Friday.
Kelly Island – a feather-shaped strip of land surrounded by the Buffalo River – has two access points: bridges at Ohio Street and Michigan Avenue. It contains several businesses in addition to RiverWorks, including General Mills’ production facility, Wonder Coffeehouse and Grand Lady Cruises.
The $800,000 Michigan Avenue Lift Bridge project – fueled with federal, state and local funding from the Transportation Improvement Program – will rehabilitate concrete abutments, replace timber fenders and repair timber dolphins, according to a news release from the city. Although the city originally said the bridge would close May 25, the date was pushed back to limit traffic disruptions for those businesses during Memorial Day weekend.
Casale said the bridge closure will not alter RiverWorks’ busy summer schedule. The greatest impact will be on the entertainment venue’s larger events, including summer concerts and Music Is Art, which attracted a crowd of 50,000 last September, he said. The Dragon Boat Festival June 17 and The Dirty Heads July 13 are two other major events that will occur while the bridge is closed.
RiverWorks has a 1,000-car parking lot, but Casale said it’s common for patrons to park on the northern side of the Michigan…
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