From Friday, October 9, through Monday, October 12, Mill Street will be closed between Belmont Street and Edward Street while crews finish a new crosswalk. The Village is asking drivers to use another route and allow extra time. It's a short closure on a short block, and it's the most visible sign of the biggest change to walking in Williamsville this year.
The project's official name is the Main Street Sidewalk Gap Project, PIN 5764.76. Even so, the bid documents don't list one work site on Main Street itself. The sites are Oakgrove Drive, Stanton Street, Belmont Place, Glen Avenue and Mill Street, with Hillside Drive and the Monroe, Brookside and Columbia stretch included as optional add-ons. The money is federal Transportation Alternatives Program funding meant to fill gaps in the sidewalk network. When the only bid came in above the federal programmed amount, the Village Board voted to make up the difference itself.
So this fall's change isn't a new storefront or a Main Street makeover. It's red concrete, curb ramps and flashing beacons on the quieter blocks where sidewalk used to stop.
The price of filling in the gaps
According to the Village's project pamphlet, federal money covers 80 percent of the cost through the Transportation Alternatives Program and the Village covers 20 percent. The same pamphlet estimated about $800,000 for all nine locations together.
The bids came in differently. At the April 13, 2026 meeting, the Board of Trustees awarded the contract to Millenium Construction, Inc., the only bidder, for a base bid of $849,976. That figure covers the seven base locations alone, so it already exceeds the estimate for all nine. The programmed federal amount is $635,384. The Board unanimously agreed that the Village would pay anything above that from general fund appropriations. Based on those two figures, at least $214,592 of the contract sits outside the federal program.
The Village has also taken on some of the labor. To keep costs down, Village DPW crews are doing the excavation and disposal for sidewalks, curb ramps, driveways and curbs. They're also restoring topsoil, grass and mulch afterward, including watering after planting. The contractor marks out where and how deep to dig, and the Village crews do the digging.
The project has been in the regional pipeline for a while. Records from a December 2023 meeting of the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council already list PIN 5764.76 as a funded project and note a delay in its letting date caused by consultant procurement.
What's going in, block by block
These are the seven base-bid locations from the Village's pamphlet, which is the work the April award covers.
| Location | Where exactly | What's planned |
|---|---|---|
| Oakgrove Drive crossing | Just north of the Oakgrove bend, near house numbers 119, 120, 125 and 128 | Raised crosswalk in red concrete, curb ramps, high-visibility signs and markings |
| Oakgrove Drive north sidewalk | From just north of the bend to Pine Acres Court, about 450 feet | New sidewalk against the curb, plus a high-visibility crosswalk at Pine Acres Court |
| Oakgrove Drive south sidewalk | From existing sidewalk near number 241 to Garrison Road, about 200 feet | New sidewalk set back from the pavement edge |
| Stanton Street north sidewalk | From existing sidewalk just east of Mill Street to North Ellicott Street, about 820 feet | New curb and sidewalk, a curb ramp at North Ellicott, and driveway aprons replaced along the whole segment |
| Belmont Place crossing | At the east side of Arend Avenue | Rectangular rapid flashing beacons, raised red-concrete crosswalk, curb ramps |
| Glen Avenue crossing | At the west side of Howard Avenue | Flashing beacons, raised red-concrete crosswalk, curb ramps |
| Mill Street crossing | Between Belmont Place and Edward Street, near numbers 195 and 196 | Flashing beacons, raised red-concrete crosswalk, curb ramps |
The Stanton Street run is the longest new walk in the base contract. It connects existing sidewalk near Mill Street to North Ellicott Street on a block where people on foot have had to walk in the road or on the grass.
The Mill Street crossing between Belmont and Edward is the one closing the road this weekend.
How the beacons and raised crossings behave
Rectangular rapid flashing beacons are the yellow light bars mounted on signs at a crosswalk. The Federal Highway Administration explains that they stay dark until activated, either by a push button or by a sensor that detects a pedestrian. Once activated, they flash in a fast alternating pattern to warn drivers that someone is crossing. FHWA also lists solar panels as one way to power the units without a separate electrical connection. The Village's own materials don't say how the Williamsville beacons are powered.
The question has come up locally. At the May 26 Board meeting, a resident asked whether the Oakgrove crossing would flash around the clock and whether it would have a solar pedestal. The answer recorded in the minutes covered something else. A raised table will sit over a water valve at that spot, and the Crew Chief said drainage won't be affected. Anyone who wants a direct answer on beacon operation for a particular crossing can ask Village Hall at 5565 Main Street.
The raised crosswalks are built from red concrete. They bring the crossing up to sidewalk level, so drivers go over a gentle rise and people on foot stay on one level from curb to curb.
What a work week looks like on your block
The pamphlet sets out construction rules that explain this weekend's Mill Street closure and anything similar later in the season:
- Two-way traffic stays open on the affected streets most of the time.
- Pouring concrete for a raised crosswalk is the exception. It brings short detours onto nearby streets, capped at three days.
- Driveways stay usable overall, but a driveway can be blocked for a while when its apron or the sidewalk in front of it is being poured. The Village says residents get notice in advance.
- On-street parking may be restricted for short periods, and the contractor isn't allowed to store materials in the street.
- Tree branches will be trimmed back from the new sidewalks. Trees, shrubs and planting beds in the Village right-of-way can be removed where they're in the way of the work.
The schedule also left room for village events. Work was to pause, with sites tidied, for Old Home Days and the Glen Park Art Festival. The art festival won't happen this year. WIVB reported in February that it was canceled for 2026 after organizers and the Village couldn't agree on terms.
The original schedule called for construction to start in late spring and finish in fall 2026. The bid terms require the work to be ready for final payment by October 31, 2026. That's a contract target. The Village hasn't posted a completion notice yet, and the Mill Street closure shows crews are still at work this month.
Two stretches that remain open questions
Hillside Drive and Monroe Drive came up in planning, but neither is confirmed for this fall.
The pamphlet lists two bid alternates, to be built only if the contractor's price fit the available funding. Alternate 1 is about 1,025 feet of sidewalk on the east side of Hillside Drive, from Glen Avenue to Reist Street. Alternate 2 is about 1,160 feet running along the east side of Monroe Drive, the north side of Brookside Drive and the west side of Columbia Drive. It would connect existing sidewalk near 216 Monroe Drive to Wehrle Drive and needs a small 174-square-foot property acquisition at Wehrle's southwest corner. The April resolution awards the base bid and says nothing about either alternate. Since the base bid alone exceeded the federal amount, the published record doesn't show those two stretches being built.
Monroe Drive also has a separate project. In June the Board awarded a paving and drainage contract to Miller Construction Services/Scott Lawn Yard for $786,155. The Village has since posted this update:
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the project, originally anticipated to be completed this fall, has been postponed until Spring 2027."
The Village says construction equipment will be taken off Monroe Drive as soon as possible and that an updated schedule will follow. Nothing published connects the paving delay to the sidewalk alternate.
One more beacon on Mill Street, from the Town
A separate project of the same type is coming to Mill Street. On September 21, 2026, Amherst Supervisor Shawn Lavin announced that the Town's Engineering Department will oversee a new crosswalk with rectangular rapid flashing beacons at Amherst State Park, 400 Mill Street, Williamsville. Survey work was scheduled for September, and installation is planned for late October. Taken together, the two projects put flashing-beacon crossings at two spots on Mill Street this fall, one built by the Village and one by the Town.
Where the new crossings fit into October
Several walkable events are on the calendar while the work wraps up. The Village Beautification Committee is hosting Polka Dot Pumpkins: Art in the Garden, a free event on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Mural Garden, 5565 Main Street. The Williamsville Business Association lists Halloween in the Village for Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Williamsville Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October 31, in the Town of Amherst parking lot on Main Street next to the Williamsville Library.
The last market Saturday falls on the same date as the project's contract deadline. If the work stays on schedule, the Oakgrove sidewalk, the Stanton Street walk and the new crossings at Belmont, Glen and Mill should all be in place by then.
At Cally Couturier, I follow changes like these because new sidewalks and crossings change how a street feels to live on. If your home is on Oakgrove, Stanton, Belmont, Glen or Mill and you're wondering how the new work affects it, or you just want to talk through what's changing near you, I'm happy to help with no pressure. Let's Connect.
