By Mark Scheer
The city’s engineer is expecting work to begin soon on the long-awaited reconstruction of Lewiston Road.
City Engineer Tom Radomski said a project meeting to discuss the reconstruction schedule is set for later this week and he’s anticipating the installation of containment units for runoff water at the lower end of the street in a matter of weeks. Notices to residents will follow and Radomski believes actual road milling could begin as soon as the end of the month.
“It’s not pleasant during construction, but it is going to be a wonderful road when it’s completed,” he said.
The finished product will result in the reconstruction of the stretch of Lewiston Road from Bath Avenue to the north city line near Devil’s Hole State Park.
City and state officials celebrated a groundbreaking for the project last August. Actual construction has yet to commence, although minor work, including clearing of the area and identification of trees for removal has already taken place.
In October, Niagara Falls Civil Engineer Robert Buzzelli told lawmakers the project was delayed while the contractor — Man O’ Trees, Inc. — sought a license from the Department of Health to tear up the pavement and haul away hazardous material discovered beneath a portion of the road.
Environmental concerns at various points under the road have been the subject of study for many years. According to the state health department, a federal review of the Falls performed in the 1970s and 1980s identified a number of roads and parking lots in the city where radioactive materials were present. The report noted five such sites on Lewiston Road, where fill material known as slag was used during construction. Slag is a stone by-product of metal or ore processing that can contain naturally occurring radioactive materials.
A 1980 study involving scientific experts gathered by the state Health Department concluded that the material posed no concern for public health as it showed mostly low levels of radioactivity and was contained in the road bedding material.
State health officials maintain that property owners in the neighborhood are not at risk and that slag poses no threat to public health provided the area where it is found remains as a low contact use and in good condition. Due to the digging that will occur as a result of the reconstruction project, additional precautions are being taken to protect the health of the community and construction workers.
“There is not a public health concern,” said Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesperson with the state Health Department.
Radomski characterized the material in question as being “very isolated” in a particular location and specific layer on Lewiston Road. Radomski said the city will dispose of the material in accordance with guidelines from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Maureen Wren, a spokesperson for the DEC, said instrument radiation readings from Lewiston Road project ranged from slightly above background levels to as much as ten times background readings. She said the city's contractor has established natural background levels that will be used to compare the material as it is exhumed. She noted that New York’s waste disposal regulations prohibit the disposal of radioactive waste in state-regulated facilities so the material will be transferred to an out-of-state facility at some point.
“We have been working with the city on this project for several years to advise officials of state disposal requirements and will continue to do so as this project moves forward,” Wren said.
