NYSDOT advises motorists about detour ahead of Ellicottville's Fall Festival

ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Ellicottville Fall Festival draws in thousands of visitors to the area, but as festival goers are getting their plans ready for the weekend, the New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists to expect congestion on their way to the festival.

“We don’t think it will be too bad, but we want people to know so they can plan ahead, and if people want to take alternative routes they can, if they want they can plan a little more time for their drive they can, but we just didn’t want people to be surprised,” said Ryan Whalen, a spokesperson for NYSDOT.

The construction of a new roundabout at the Peters Road, Miller Road and Route 219 intersection has closed the last exit of the 219 expressway since early September.

“We just want people to know that you’re going to be getting off an exit earlier. If you’re heading south to the 219 expressway, you’re going to go to what we call the ‘Old 219,’ which is what the route was before the expressway went in and that’s going to slow down traffic a little bit and cause a little bit of congestion,” said Whalen.

Some routes to the village can be found here.

“I think by and large, people are pretty dedicated to coming to fall fest, that’s certainly what we’re planning on and I don’t think it’s an annual tradition situation so we’re looking forward to hosting a lot of people here and seeing people come here year after year,” said Dash Hegeman, Holiday Valley’s director of marketing.

So far, the construction has not had a major impact on travelers coming to the village.

“Not tremendously yet, but this weekend will be a test for that so hopefully everything north of us, they’ve got it pretty well figured out and we’ll just have a fairly existing line of traffic coming into Ellicottville,” said Hegeman. “Ellicottville does fall festival every year so it’s pretty accustomed in having a long line of traffic coming into Ellicottville, people getting ready to party at fall fest and I think this weekend will be no different.”

The New York State Department of Transportation expects the construction of the new roundabout to be complete by Oct. 31.

For more information about the Ellicottville Fall Festival, visit the Chamber of Commerce website here. To learn more about the activities happening at Holiday Valley, visit its website here.