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Demolitions will make way for Peace Bridge expansion

Some Busti Avenue homes will be demolished for toll plaza expansion
WBFO News file photo
Some Busti Avenue homes will be demolished for toll plaza expansion

The long process for speeding up traffic across the Peace Bridge is shifting to improving the plaza on the U.S. end.

That's going to be a relatively small improvement compared to the $300 million plan Washington was pushing but wouldn't pay for.

With plans shown at a public display yesterday in the Niagara Branch Library, the bridge authority wants to demolish a row of houses along Busti Avenue and eventually buy and demolish the adjacent Episcopal Church Home.

"As we know the amount of retail dollars coming from Canada into our malls and other retail outlets is huge!" said Authority Board Chairman Sam Hoyt.  

"We need to send a message to those Canadians that crossing at the Peace Bridge  is going to be an easy process."

Hoyt says the authority is also working on designs for a major renovation of the Customs warehouse which dominates the current Buffalo plaza.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.