Correction: Construction on Phase 2 is 80% completed as of mid-February.

Work began in January on the final phase of construction on a Buffalo Speedway improvement project through the city of West University Place.

Construction on Phase 3 will take place between Holcombe Boulevard and Amherst Street, just north of University Boulevard, through late 2022.

The project will be broken into three steps, said Gerardo Barrera, West University Place’s public works director.

The first step entails reducing traffic on Buffalo Speedway to a single southbound lane between University and Holcombe boulevards. Residents on the east side of Buffalo Speedway will have driveway access impacted while new storm boxes are installed, and access to Cason Street will remain closed.



“Parking will be limited to the side streets and perhaps across the street,” Barrera said. “Crews will expedite work when possible to at least be able to provide parking in front of their homes.”

In the second step, construction will shift to the west side, closing southbound traffic and reopening northbound traffic. During this step, residents on the west side of Buffalo Speedway will have their driveways impacted for three to four weeks and will be notified prior to construction.

In the third step, traffic will once again shift to the east side of the street with traffic being restricted to southbound only. Residents on the east side of the streets will have their driveways impacted for three to four weeks, and intersections will remain open until rolling construction reaches that section of the road.

Each step is expected to take between 12-16 weeks, Barrera said. City officials recommend drivers use Kirby Drive as a detour while the road is limited to one lane.


The project, which began planning in 2018, kicked off construction in March 2021. The project costs an estimated $23 million, which is being used for road surface reconstruction and drainage improvements. Federal grant funds of $9.2 million have been secured for the project.

Construction on phases 2 and 4—from Cason Street to Gramercy Street and from Wroxton Road to Amherst Street, respectively—is ongoing. The project’s phases had originally been organized chronologically, but a utility relocation forced a change in timelines.

Construction cleanup for the project is slated to begin in January 2023.