It is a popular thing nowadays to want to tear down urban highways and reconnect cities with their waterfronts. Our rivers have never been cleaner in centuries, and as gas prices have increased, the demand for recreation and beauty in our communities has grown larger and larger. It almost seems like a no-brainer to tear down I-787 and “reconnect” Albany to it’s waterfront.

Yet, it’s not as easy as it first seems.

1) There is a critical set of railroad tracks that runs from the Port of Albany to the mainline, to all points west, up through Tivoli Hollow, and eventually follows along the Mohawk Valley. These tracks haul all kinds of materials to and from the port, including petroleum products, grain, cement, and other basic materials for our economy. Some of the cargo is hazardous and explosive, so burying the tracks would be risky and expensive. If you don’t bury or remove these railroad tracks, then access would be continue to be limited to the Hudson River.

2) The Dunn Memorial Bridge was elevated to it’s current high level over the Hudson River during the highway reconstruction in the mid-1960. It’s predecessor was a much lower, “pedestrian-friendly” bridge, which looking back we had warm and fuzzy memories about, but it was a traffic nightmare, every time the bridge had to lift to allow all but the smallest vessels to proceed up the river. While many of the biggest boats no longer go north of Winter Dock, many still require the freight bridge to the North to be opened — which if the vehicle traffic bridge was lowered — would cause significant delays.