Bike rides take me past the west end of Water Avenue in Albany several times a week. So I see the transformation of this former industrial street into the “plaza street” envisioned by the city’s Waterfront Project.
For many years, a remnant of a long unused railroad spur has been visible on the west end of Water Avenue at Washington Street. Before this artifact of Albany’s history disappears forever, I tried to find out where it led back in the day.
A Pacific Power contractor is working on undergrounding electric wires along a section of Water Avenue on the Albany riverfront. Ratepayers in Albany can expect to get the bill, but the amount is not yet clear.
When construction on the Albany Waterfront Project started in the spring of 2023, a chart produced at an open house anticipated that the project would be completed by November 2024. Now the work will extend far into 2025.
So what exactly is that so-called “plaza street” that leaves Albany customers of Pacific Power on the hook for the expense of putting power lines under ground?
The two river-viewing piers on Albany’s waterfront have been closed to the public for reconstruction since last spring, but now there’s a sign of some progress.
Fitting the pavers on Albany’s ‘plaza street’
When the contractor on Albany’s Waterfront Project started building the new “plaza street” on April 14, the city expected the closure of that section of Water Avenue to end in mid-June. The work has taken longer than that.
Tags: "plaza street", Albany Revitaliation Agency, CARA, Water Avenue, Waterfront Project