Buffalo in the 70s: To save downtown, Buffalo needs two new highways

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

As Western New York discusses the pros and cons of downgrading one major highway, it’s probably a fair assumption that there aren’t many clamoring for these two highways which were never built.

Talk of a West Side Expressway lingered into the 1980s, but right of ways would have cut through what is now a revitalized Delaware Avenue corridor, the Chippewa Strip and the Theater District.

The other highway exists practically speaking, but as city streets.  The buildings and businesses between Elm and Oak were acquired in preparation for a highway which was never built. Still, the wide-lane one direction roads act as the quickest way to connect the Kensington Expressway with the Thruway.

Published by

Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.