Getting the go-ahead for the $12 million wharf replacement project is important news for the Port of Albany. By George Lauriat, AJOT Richard “Rich” Hendrick, General Manager for the Port of Albany, New York has been waiting for sometime to make the announcement. The announcement in question was the go ahead for the $12 million reconstruction of a wharf on the Rensselar side of the Hudson River. “It’s been a long wait,” Hendrick remarked to the AJOT in an interview shortly after the project was green lighted earlier this month. The award for rebuilding the wharf was part of a larger sum awarded - $64 million - to the “Capital District” (Albany is the capital of New York State) for various infra structure type projects in a State wide competition. The rebuild of the Rensselar has been a goal of the port for a long time and represents a significant increase in handling space for the Port. The wharf was built in the late 1920s, and the first 500 feet of the timber and wood piled structure were replaced in the 1970s. The new award is for the reconstruction of the remaining 600 feet, and the project is being fast tracked by the Port of Albany. Hendrick expects that the ground testing contract will be awarded by September and the construction contract by December. “Once ground is broken, it will probably take a year to eighteen months to finish the wharf replacement,” Hendrick said. The potential for the new wharf is clear. With the additional berths the Port will be able to handle more and larger vessels. The new wharf has already attracted interest as an asphalt & aggregate company is located nearby and could use the new facilities for future work. A key element could be the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement. The 3.1-mile span was opened in the 1950s and is overdue for replacement. The bridge currently handles over 170,000 vehicles a day, a number expected to increase significantly over the next two decades. In March the State released the “final request for proposals” as the process has moved a step forward. The bridge replacement could prove to be a boon for construction and supply companies located in the Port of Albany area, which could use the facilities as a staging area for supplying equipment and materials for the project. Envisioned is a significantly higher span of around 155 feet off the Hudson River. The height would add considerable air draft to the Hudson River, although arguments for keeping the existing span in place could nullify the gains of the new design. Hendrick would like to see all the Hudson River bridges brought up to the 155-foot mark. Currently the air draft is around 131 feet (there are seven spans of the river,) and in the cases of the larger bulk ships, the pilotage has to be timed against low tide to secure passage. But at 155 feet, the river could accept the size of most of the bulk ships now calling at the port. The Port of Albany’s geography is unique. The Hudson River is roughly 400 feet wide, and in the Port of Albany it’s 700 feet wide with a tide of 4.7 feet (the Port’s at sea level). The Port’s 260- miles east of Buffalo, 225 miles south of Montreal, around 130 miles from New York and only 175 miles west of the Port of Boston. Add in rail connections and it is easy to understand why the Port still is very relevant to the region’s economic well-being. Currently, scrap metal and break bulk type commodities are handled at the port along with machinery and other over-sized cargo. The Port has also at various times handled grains, salt (Hendrick noted, in fifty plus years in the region last winter was probably the only one where salt wasn’t necessary,) and cocoa beans along with project cargo. A container barge link with the Port of New York/New Jersey was also tried but was eventually discontinued. While the container barge wasn’t cost effective, it doesn’t mean the idea is completely dead. There has been interest in other barge ventures that may prove effective, particularly when the recession is really in the back view mirror. The port is also very