Gribblenation

This was from another article from the Buffalo News, posted on November 12, 2008... While a federal agency has rejected the 567 foot-tall bridge that a design jury said should be built across the Niagara River, it has cleared the way for a three-tower cable-stayed signature bridge about 400 feet tall. At the same, the agency said the Peace Bridge Authority can move forward and not wait for a two-year study. In my opinion, the Peace Bridge Authority has been waiting long enough to get this companion bridge built. I'd like the bridge to be finished sometime in my lifetime. But on a practical level, an easier way to get between Western New York and Southern Ontario would make it easier for passenger and commercial traffic faced with long waits at the border. Read the article at... http://www.buffalonews.com/377/story/459872.html

Some of you may remember the work being done on NY 5 during the Buffalo road meet. This may be somewhat related to that... Work will begin in January on a study or building a new bridge to improve access to Buffalo's outer harbor. The construction of a new span that would link downtown Buffalo's inner harbor to the outer harbor is still at least three years away, but plans are moving forward for a $2 million study that considers location and design options. http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/499693.html

Those terns I mentioned a few weeks may have been a laughable concern at best, as other issues seem to loom over the upcoming Peace Bridge construction. More common concerns in regards to the truck plaza at customs that would be greeting Buffalo-bound commercial traffic would also mean the removal of a number of homes in the nearby Columbus Parkway neighborhood. Over time, there was discussion on how to accomplish the task of expanding the customs station for commercial vehicles. I recall that at one time, there was a proposal to have the U.S. customs station on the Fort Erie side of the bridge, as there is more space to work with on the Ontario bank of the Niagara River than in Buffalo. Instead, the consensus seems to be that removing a number of residences, a number of them historic, is the way to go. http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/ontarioniagara/story/346343.html

Some additional recent stories about the current battle over the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, all from the Buffalo News. I will refer you direct to the links to the stories this time around. http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/331388.html http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/332410.html http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/334415.html http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/333747.html http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/333767.html http://www.buffalonews.com/180/story/335234.html

This morning's blog post has much to do with happenings around Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario.  The neverending saga of the replacement or the expansion of the Peace Bridge that links the two municipalities over the Niagara River continues.  This time, it's gone to the birds... literally. The Buffalo News reports that the signature span that was selected was rejected by federal agencies because it may impact the flight patterns of migrating birds.  The towers of the cable-stayed bridge design, which actually would be taller than the Washington Monument, apparently have the capability of confusing the birds and knocking them dead in their tracks. This trio of articles from the Buffalo News should explain the situation more thoroughly... http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/329728.html http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/330567.html http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/331561.html It is my hopes that the issues involving the new Peace Bridge construction...