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Buffalo's Gridlock Roots Lie in 1960s Expressway Construction
A series of infrastructure choices from the postwar era continue to influence daily commutes across the city.
How we reported this
Commuters on the Kensington Expressway now encounter backups stretching two miles during evening rush hour, a direct result of planning decisions from the 1950s that favored limited-access highways through urban neighborhoods.
These patterns matter now as Buffalo sees renewed interest in downtown living and freight movement along the Erie Canal corridor increases with industrial growth in the region.
Origins in Urban Renewal Era
Planners routed the Scajaquada Expressway through Delaware Park and near the Buffalo Zoo in the late 1960s, splitting communities in North Buffalo and forcing residents onto side streets like Hertel Avenue for local travel. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority launched its first bus rapid transit studies around the same time but shifted focus after federal funding prioritized road projects over rail extensions to areas like the University at Buffalo campus. Similar choices sent the Niagara Thruway along the Black Rock waterfront, cutting off pedestrian access to the riverfront in neighborhoods that had previously relied on streetcar lines running down Elmwood Avenue.
Traffic volume data from the New York State Department of Transportation shows daily vehicle counts on I-190 near the Peace Bridge reached 85,000 by 2024, up from 62,000 in 1990, reflecting the long-term effects of those early investments in automobile infrastructure. City records from 1964 list the cost of the initial Scajaquada segment at $18 million, a figure that locked in maintenance obligations still appearing in the 2026 capital budget.
Effects on Neighborhood Connectivity
Programs such as the city's Complete Streets initiative, started in 2011, have attempted to add bike lanes on streets like Main Street in the Allentown district, yet legacy highway designs still funnel traffic through bottlenecks at intersections with Fillmore Avenue. The same era saw the demolition of several blocks along Michigan Avenue to accommodate ramp access, an alteration that redirected local bus routes operated by the NFTA and reduced service frequency to the Medical Campus by the early 1970s.
Residents can monitor real-time updates through the NFTA's transit app or the city's traffic management center website to plan alternate routes via local roads in the West Side neighborhood during peak periods.