There’s been a whirlwind of Good News for the waterfront lately it’s been hard to keep up. Unless you’ve been living in suspended cryosleep on a spaceship then you must know the Skyway opened last week with great fanfare.

What an exciting day for the City of Albany. Governor Hochul cut the ribbon with local dignitaries and agency heads on a gorgeous, bright sunny day. The ceremony was well attended. The Skyway is a really neat adaptive reuse of an underutilized highway ramp that was destined for the wrecking ball. Instead of throwing money at demolishing it, the State stepped up and supported efforts by the City and Capitalize Albany Corporation to retrofit the ramp for bike and pedestrian use. The views coming off the ramp to Broadway are wonderful – many folks seemed in genuine anticipation of what’s to come – the plants will bloom, vendors will come and the events will certainly be in full swing come warmer months.

The biggest news of the day, at least for us, was Governor Hochul’s comments at the ribbon cutting  that the public process and scoping for the Livingston Ave. Bridge would begin in June, and construction in 2023.

From her press material:

“…the public process for the replacement of the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge, led by the State Department of Transportation, will continue in June with a formal public hearing taking place. A date and location in the City of Albany will be identified in the coming weeks. The bridge provides a critical link for passenger rail service from the Northeast Corridor to Albany-Rensselaer. The new, $32.8 billion DOT capital plan includes up to $400 million to replace the existing, Civil War-era bridge with a new, modern structure capable of supporting higher-speed passenger rail, freight rail, maritime transport, and bicycle-pedestrian access.. ” (https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-opening-albany-skyway-connecting-downtown-albany-hudson-river)

Goosebumps, right?!

Perfect timing because the opportunity to tout the replacement project’s values presented it self weeks ago when Spectrum News asked if an on camera interview was possible. Of course! That interview can be accessed here:  https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2022/05/05/state-invests-up-to–400-million-for-livingston-avenue-bridge.

The Skyway project and the Bridge are intrinsically linked. The Skyway is a Little Leaguer’s underhand ball toss away from the Livingston Avenue Bridge – at grade too! It’s literally the red carpet to the Bridge. OK, it’s not red. Or a carpet. But the girders are “red-ish” and there will be a carpet of flowers in the planters soon. Look, it’s almost literal, ok? The fact is, the Skyway is on it’s own a grand concept come to life and it will REALLY shine when it’s the entryway into the Cities of Albany and Troy.