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Albany Gets $3.1M From NY State For New Riverfront Skyway

City of Albany
Image depicts what a bike path along I-787 might look like.

The city of Albany is getting more than $3 million in state funding to turn a lightly traveled interstate ramp into an elevated park giving pedestrians and bicyclists access to the Hudson River.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that the downtown project will transform the Clinton Avenue ramp off the northbound side of Interstate 787 into the Albany Skyway. The Democrat says the project will offer another safe way to reach the city's Corning Riverfront Park.

The funding is in addition to a $375,000 state grant awarded in December 2016 for preliminary planning and design for the project, expected to be completed by late 2020.

Downtown Albany already has a 16-year-old pedestrian bridge spanning I-787, but the new skyway will be closer to a section of the city undergoing redevelopment.

© 2018 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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