THE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  December 14, 2010                                             

CONTACT:
Erich Weyant (ECHDC)
eweyant@empire.state.ny.us |
716.846.8258                                                                                           

ECHDC TO BEGIN GRAIN ELEVATOR INSPECTION

Goal will be to determine how it affects Main Street Bridge alternatives

Approved as part of a larger Buffalo Harbor Bridge work package in December by the Erie
Canal Harbor Development Corporation, today marks the start of a nearly two-week structural
inspection of the Connecting Terminal Elevator on the outer harbor. The $90,000 inspection
program will allow ECHDC to determine the condition of the elevator and how it affects the
Main Street bridge alternatives currently being studied.

Still in the environmental review phase, both Main Street and Erie Street remain feasible
alternatives. While no determination has been made regarding the bridge’s final location, several
sub-alternatives for each location are being studied further. Sub-alternatives for the Main Street
location include building the bridge around the grain elevator, through a portion of the elevator,
or removing the elevator. The “through” sub-alternative would involve the restoration of the
remaining sections and missing pieces of the elevator.

“Our first option, because of historic resource concerns, is to go around the elevator but that
involves investing a significant amount into public infrastructure and leaving a deteriorating,
possibly unsafe, grain elevator sitting next to it,” said ECHDC President Tom Dee.

ECHDC began designing a Main Street alternative that avoided the grain elevator to the north.
However, after speaking with several stakeholders groups, there was concern that a bridge in this
location would negatively impact the view of the grain elevator from the inner harbor – where
most people can see it. A second avoidance alternative, which located the bridge south of the
grain elevator, was then developed. While the view is less impacted, the constructing the bridge
over the City Ship Canal increased costs considerably and impacts a greater portion of available
land.

“Avoiding the grain elevator creates its own set of impacts. It’s more costly to build the bridge
around it, it eats up more prime waterfront land, and we don’t even know if it’s safe to leave it in
place,”, said project manager Steven Ranalli. “It’s a unique structure and it will require a unique
solution to deal with it properly.”

ECHDC presented the various Main Street sub-alternatives to the preservation community
during the scoping process earlier this year. Lorrain Pierro, President of the Industrial Heritage
Committee, feels the “through” option could provide a “gateway entrance that would spotlight
the grain elevators and the City, and connect the Erie Canal with the Industrial Heritage Trail
along the Outer Harbor Parkway,” Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the Campaign for Greater
Buffalo have also been briefed on the Main Street alternatives. The New York State Historic
Preservation Office has also seen the early concepts and is awaiting the full study before making
any determination.

The Connecting Terminal Elevator, built in two sections during the first half of the 20th century,
has been idle since the late 1960s. While a hotel rehabilitation scheme in the 1980s and Great
Lakes Center in the 1990s were proposed, neither project materialized. The Central Terminal
Elevator has since lost major elements, including the marine towers, the headhouse and a
majority of the distributing floor due to neglect and weather.

As no plans exist for the 1915 section of the elevator, and with very few plans left in existence
for the 1954 addition, the inspection will document several key features, including the
foundation, bin wall thickness and dimensions, materials, and concrete strength. The inspection
will also document the current structural condition and areas of distress. The results of this
inspection will be used to determine what Main Street alternatives are feasible and what the
costs associated with each alternative will be. The information will be included in the draft
environmental impact statement expected in 2011.

For more information, please visit the project website: www.buffaloharborbridge.com

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