Expansion of the Peace Bridge International Crossing in Buffalo

The New York Division, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), has concluded consultation on a Memorandum of Agreement for the Peace Bridge Expansion Project, now circulating for signature. As a result of Section 106 review, the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority and FHWA will retain and rehabilitate the historic Peace Bridge, an international crossing built to commemorate a century of peace between Canada and the U.S. The multiple-arch and steel-plated girder bridge (1925-1927) is significant for this association and its bridge engineering. FHWA will help fund construction of a compatible companion bridge to the south to help relieve cross-border congestion and provide associated improvements in Buffalo.

Details
The Peace Bridge connects Interstate 190 in Buffalo, New York, with the Queen Elizabeth Way in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The Peace Bridge Plaza in Buffalo serves as a U.S. Land Border Port of Entry. In the 1990s, the improvements were separately proposed and analyzed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the General Services Administration (GSA). In 2001, a federal court decision directed the agencies to analyze and plan the improvements as one National Environmental Policy Act action. The current Environmental Impact Statement was initiated in 2002 with FHWA as the lead federal agency.

Since 2002, FHWA has conducted alternatives screening and identified a preferred alternative comprised of many individual components: an improved customs plaza with additional capacity and meeting current GSA design guidelines; an interpretive center and park; a new four-lane sister bridge; a rehabilitated existing three-lane historic bridge; and, a new connecting roadway system.

Historic properties affected include the existing Peace Bridge, the Buffalo Park and Parkways System (including Front Park, Columbus Park, Prospect Park, and Porter Avenue) designed by F.L. Olmstead, the Hutchinson Memorial Chapel, an Episcopal church, and the Prospect Hill Historic District. Also, 13 residences eligible for the National Register but located outside of the historic district will be removed, and archaeological remains are anticipated to be discovered within the construction area.

The Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy remains concerned that the adjoining truck stop/customs plaza and associated transportation infrastructure will isolate the park system and diminish the visitor experience. Other consulting parties (including the Preservation League of New York, Campaign for Greater Buffalo, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation) have commented that the size of the customs plaza and the network of ramps will overwhelm the Prospect Hill historic district, severely altering its setting. Despite these concerns, FHWA, Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (PBA), New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT), New York State Historic Preservation Officer, and the ACHP have agreed the project’s impacts on historic properties have been adequately minimized. These four signatories have agreed to sign a final Memorandum of Agreement that requires FHWA (with the assistance of PBA and NYDOT) to conduct further archaeological investigations in areas to be disturbed; relocate the Hutchinson Memorial Chapel and complete a plan for rehabilitation so the building can be re-used by PBA; complete documentation of the affected contributing approach spans of the Peace Bridge and of 13 individually eligible buildings proposed for demolition; fund a popular history of the Prospect Hill Historic District; and, involve consulting parties in ongoing design of project features.