Construction on a new bridge linking two Schenectady County communities is finished.
The newly opened Kings Road bridge spans the rail line between Schenectady’s Woodlawn neighborhood and Rotterdam. Speaking at a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy says he appreciates area residents’ patience with the multi-month closure.
“It allowed us to do it quicker and cheaper. And so I want to thank the people for tolerating that and again, the team- state DOT, Capital District Transportation Committee, city staff. It's a good project. It's a great outcome, and we're glad to have it open for Thanksgiving,” McCarthy said.
The Democrat adds doing repairs on a span only goes so far.
“It had deteriorated to the point where its structural integrity was being questioned, and so this allows now a modern structure that's going to be here for the next half century,” McCarthy said.
Wider than the previous structure, the new bridge also has a wide sidewalk and bike lane on one side. It’s also several feet higher to make it easier for trains to pass beneath. McCarthy says it will be an economic driver in the area.
“It's again, continuing to rebuild the infrastructure within the city, the viability here to making this connectivity an attractive community where people want to live, work, invest, and just come here and have a good time,” McCarthy said.
Chris Wallin is Schenectady City Engineer.
“This bridge is one of the oldest projects that has been on the tip in the Capital District, almost 20 years on the on the tip for funding. It's gone through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of different federal programs, and happy to be here,” Wallin said.
Wallin says it’s one of the first bridges in the area with adequate bike shoulders and sidewalk for bicyclists and pedestrians, and says it marked a first.
“I’ve been City Engineer for 13 years, and even though we've done bridge projects, this is actually the first new bridge from the ground up in the city of Schenectady in over 30 years,” Wallin said.
State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara is a Democrat from the 111th District. He says, as a civil engineer, this bridge is a vast upgrade over the one it replaced, which opened in 1960.
“It's opportunities to do biking, opportunities to walk, to make our community more walkable, opportunities for more businesses. So it's not just about the structure itself. It's about much, much more than that,” Santabarbara said.
Area residents seem to love it too. Ben Signore was one of the pedestrians taking the new sidewalk over before Wednesday’s ceremony. A Woodlawn resident, he’s grateful for the new bridge, which he says is much easier to walk.
“The sidewalk? Unbelievable. I mean, we used to walk and, I mean, you had about two feet and it was all crumbled and, you know, pot[hole]s and everything where people walk. Oh yeah, this is a really, really big difference,” Signore said.
He adds it means he and his wife can get back to a personal tradition: walking to the store for a cup of coffee on weekend mornings.
“We got to know the people over there, and they're nice people that work for that Cumberland Farms. And so we'd have to drive three or four miles around and everything to get here. Now we can just go back to walking like we used to,” Signore said.
But the best part? Lights.
“Man, it was dark,” Signore said.
Sandy Misiewicz is Executive Director of the Capital Region Transportation Council. She says her organization’s support for the project is part of a regional effort for complete streets.
“Providing the federal funding to really support the implementation of this, of this bridge, particularly the integration of the bicycle and pedestrian features, the safety, making it a lot easier for folks to even navigate the bridge, both as drivers, as cyclists and pedestrians, is a really important priority,” Misiewicz said.
Dozens of cars passed over the bridge as it opened, with the first marking the occasion.
