Work is progressing on the shoreline of Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park in Buffalo, as contractors remove driftwood near the adjacent condominiums, bring in large rocks and smaller stone to rebuild and replace the breakwall, dredge the shoreline, and prepare to construct a pedestrian bridge.
The work, overseen by Gilbane Building Co., is part of the $110 million effort to convert the aging former LaSalle Park into the new park, with sports fields, playgrounds, walking paths, bike paths and other facilities on Buffalo’s West Side.
The project, funded with a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, has been in planning stages for the last two years.
“We are finally underway,” senior project manager Kelly Maloney told the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. BUDC is overseeing the project for the city.
Maloney said dredging work by Bidco Marine began late last week, and will finish in the next couple of weeks. Medium to large stones are being delivered to the shoreline for installation. Pavilions and playground equipment have been taken down and will be reused as much as possible, along with bleachers and signs. Granite curbs are being retained. Detours have been set up for park users. And soil will be reused on-site to keep costs down.
Ferguson Electric is putting in temporary electrical power. Union Concrete will start installing pilings for the bridge in the next few weeks. And Gilbane is coordinating with CSX Rail and the State Thruway Authority on the pedestrian bridge.
“There’s a lot of work going on,” Maloney said.
Meanwhile, at the Northland Corridor – also overseen by BUDC – a team of architects and engineers are working on plans for four small projects as part of the next phase of development in the East Side light-industrial hub, which is anchored by the Northland Workforce Training Center.
Plans are still preliminary, with design expected to finish by the end of the year or early next year. Officials cautioned…
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