Rensselaer boost
the current bridge, which is owned by CSX and leased to Amtrak, is a decrepit old thing considered long past its prime. The question hasn’t been whether it would be replaced but what, exactly, would replace it.
In other words, would the new span be just a railroad bridge for Amtrak trains and, dare to dream, high-speed rail yet to come? Or would it also allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the river?
The latter is the better way to go, in that it would provide the region with recreational and economic benefits that a mere railroad bridge could never deliver. While it would be a stretch, I think, to claim that the new bridge could be our version of the tremendously popular (and wonderful) Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, it might be just down the street from the same neighborhood.
Well, here’s the good news: Hochul’s understated announcement of the $400 million project seems to promise that pedestrian and cyclist access will be part of the deal. That’s certainly what the renderings show.
On the Albany side of the river, they depict pedestrian pathways connecting to the new Skyway ramp, and it’s easy to envision that the new bridge will boost both the neighborhood just north of downtown and plans to redevelop its notorious relic — the Central Warehouse.
But the boost might be even bigger on the Rensselaer side of the river, where the state’s renderings show the bridge’s pedestrian walkway meeting parkland and a riverside trail in an area that’s now a gritty rail yard.
“Finally, it’s coming to fruition,” Rensselaer Mayor Mike Stammel told me Friday, after noting that better pedestrian access over the water has been discussed (and discussed and discussed) for decades. “I’m thrilled about it, and I think it will result in quite a few development opportunities for the city.”
(You can technically walk across the Dunn Memorial Bridge, if you’re determined to do so, but the trip is not practical, easy, pleasant or family-friendly.)
Maybe it’s pie-in-the-sky to imagine that an army of commuters would use the bridge to walk from their new homes in Rensselaer to jobs in Albany. But some people likely would, perhaps bringing new construction to a city that could use the investment.
And many more would walk or bike over from Albany to check out the scene and the view. Put a waterside restaurant or two there, or maybe an ice cream stand, and Rensselaer might have the beginning of something significant.
(Hey, what about a casino?! Has anybody considered that?)
It has been quietly suggested, though, that plans for bike and foot access on the bridge still might not be set in stone, which is a good reason for those of you with opinions on the matter to turn up for either the May 31 virtual public hearing on the project or one scheduled for 6 p.m. June 1 at the Palace Theatre.
There also seem to be lingering liability concerns and more than a few questions about the project that remain unanswered, including whether the bridge will be publicly owned and who will be responsible for maintenance. When asked about that, a spokesman for DOT told me that agency is working with Amtrak and CSX “to finalize a long-term arrangement.”
But this should be doable, given that it’s not like we’re attempting to build a rocket to Mars. There are bridges all around the world on which pedestrians and trains happily coexist, and, as Stammel noted, it wasn’t so long ago that people were allowed to walk over the existing Livingston Avenue Bridge or the now-demolished Maiden Lane Bridge.
“People commuted back and forth to go to work,” the mayor said, describing how he, too, also used to make the journey across.
Imagine that. People happily crossing over the river on just their feet. What a world! And with Hochul’s office suggesting that construction on the new bridge just might be done by 2026, we may experience it again.
Now, about that landfill.