Construction of $13 million elevated park ready to begin
The state will begin construction on the $13 million Albany Skyway park later this month.
When completed, the elevated park on the Clinton Avenue ramp underneath Interstate 787 will link Quay Street to Broadway and Clinton Avenue at Quackenbush Square.
The park, which is to open by the end of the year, will expand recreational opportunities and provide a safe way for pedestrians and cyclists to reach the
Corning Preserve Park and the Mohawk Hudson Hike Bike Trail. The halfmile park will also be fully accessible and Ada-compliant. Where it merges with the much busier Clinton Avenue ramp, barriers will separate vehicles from pedestrians and cyclists.
City officials also envision it as a space for public art, entertainment, small pop-up restaurants and food trucks. It is viewed as part of the city’s larger efforts to revitalize Clinton Square.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the Skyway would be one of the most transformational projects the city had seen in decades.
“The Albany Skyway will provide one of the most historically underserved census tracts in our region with a revitalized park, new economic opportunities, and a welcoming gateway between the Hudson River waterfront, Clinton Square, Arbor Hill, and Sheridan Hollow,” she said in a statement.
Supporters hope the project will act much like High Line Park, a linear park built on an abandoned freight viaduct in lower Manhattan, and do the same as it did for the neighborhoods alongside it.
The project is being financed by a $5 million federal grant that requires a $1.2 million city match, $1.9 million from the city’s downtown revitalization funds that came as a state grant awarded in 2018 and a $3.1 million state Department of Transportation award.
The Skyway project was initiated with a $375,000 grant, awarded in 2016 through the Regional Economic Development Council, that was used to study the feasibility and design of the linear park.
The project was briefly delayed after the Common Council refused to bond $1.5 million in 2019 to help pay for the project. The council later approved a similar bonding measure.
It was not immediately clear what day the road would shut down for construction to begin.