Buffalo, NY – The Thruway Authority has settled on a new location for its Buffalo area headquarters.
The Authority will relocate from 3901 Genesee Street to 455 Cayuga Road after a nearly year long search. Thruway officials say the new location fits a requirement to be near the mainline.
"We need to be near the Thruway, that was the key driver in our search, and we've been able to find a location that gives us that and provides enough space for now and growth in the future," Authority spokesman Terry O'Brien told the Buffalo News.
But critics, led by State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt of Buffalo, opposed the suburban location. Hoyt had been pushing for a downtown location for the Authority's local headquarters. He had supported a site at Exchange Street and Michigan Avenue, adjacent to the 190 Niagara section.
"I still maintain that all government offices, as Gov. George E. Pataki said in his State of the State address two years ago, ought to be located in central business districts whenever that's possible," Hoyt told the News. "Hopefully, this will be the last example of that pledge being broken."
The Thruway Authority is searching for a downtown site for its EZ Pass service center now located in Tonawanda.