Albany County had reported that the temporary rail trail bridge would be installed into place on Friday Oct. 13. An opening was projected for Oct. 31; as of Wed. Nov. 9 however, the bridge is still not open to the public. Until the temporary bridge is opened, riders and walkers should exercise caution on the detour as it crosses busy Rt 85 and there is minimal traffic control. See Albany Bicycle Coalition’s News page to get the backstory. The photo below (10/12/23) shows the temporary bridge right after it was dropped into place. The road marked “DEAD END” is the continuation of the rail trail to Voorheesville. There is now a blinking warning sign on Rt 85 to alert people in cars that there is a cross walk ahead – but, be careful!
Elsewhere on the trail, Dept of Public Works reports that the rail trail will be closed between Hilton Rd. and Upper Front Grove Rd., weekdays 7:00AM-3:30PM, through end of Nov. 2023, for construction on the Bender Melon Farm Preserve Bridge.
Rail Trail Detour – Rt 85 Bridge – On July 19, the Rt 85 rail trail bridge collapsed while concrete was being poured. The Times Union reported on August 3 that the damaged bridge has been removed and the detour for motor vehicles ended. The roadway under the bridge is reopened. Here is an analysis of the bridge failure. The next steps are to install a temporary bridge for rail trail users and to design and build a final, replacement bridge.
The rail trial detour is as before – with a marked cross walk on Rt 85.
CAUTION – Vehicle traffic might not stop for cyclists. There is still a walking-recommended stone/gravel path from the southeast (Kenmore Ave.) side to the crosswalk.
For current status updates go to Albany County’s bridge page. For complete history, go to our Cycling in the News and scroll down to “Slingerlands Rail Trail Bridge, New Scotland Rd.“
Crosswalk, New Scotland Road, as of Sep. 9 2023:
Below are views of the new Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail bridge work site:
The project site with one buttress/sidewall of the motor vehicle road completed (taken from the bike/ped detour across Rt. 85).
Building the forms on the SE buttress/sidewall (from the Voorheesville side of the cut).
Looking SE toward Delmar/Kenwood Ave. showing alignment of the bike-ped bridge. To get and idea of the final bridge alignement, line up the 4 concrete trapezoids.
Looking the opposite direction toward Voorheesville with a peek at the paved trail beyond.
Albany Bicycle Coalition 