Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a joyous "716 Day" in Western New York with the arrival of the first barge carrying the Ralph Wilson Park Pedestrian Bridge from Albany along the Erie Canal.
The bridge completed its final leg of a historic journey to Buffalo up the Erie Canal, arriving on the shore of Ralph Wilson Centennial Park on Tuesday.
Designed with the help of community input, the bridge will create a stunning new pedestrian and bicyclist entrance to Ralph Wilson Centennial Park over the I-190. Ralph Wilson Park (formerly LaSalle Park) is a 100-plus acre waterfront park in the City of Buffalo that is currently undergoing a transformation to create a world-class public space that is safe, accessible and fun for all to enjoy.
"The community told us loud and clear their No. 1 priority for the park redesign is a safer, more accessible, more beautiful way to get to Ralph Wilson Park and we took that to heart," said Katie Campos, Executive Director of the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy. "With our committed partners, we are collectively delivering a bridge that not only accomplishes that but is also architecturally and culturally significant. There has been a lot of excitement across New York State as the bridge traveled the nearly 200-year-old Erie Canal and we look forward to welcoming our community, and visitors from around the state and country, to Ralph Wilson Park."
"On the eve of the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial, the completed transatlantic journey of the new Ralph Wilson Park Pedestrian Bridge, including its final leg of 338-miles from Waterford to Buffalo, is proof positive that our historic Erie Canal is still capable of doing exactly what it was designed and built for – moving cargo and doing big things for New York State," added New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton on Tuesday. "When it opened in Buffalo on Oct. 26, 1825, few residents could even imagine the Erie Canal would become known as the most significant public works project of its day, and today’s residents are witnessing history again with the successful arrival of this new pedestrian bridge."
A community-driven visioning process for Ralph Wilson Park that started in 2018 called "Imagine LaSalle" emphasized the community’s No. 1 priority was safe access to the park. With that feedback in mind, the City of Buffalo, the State of New York, and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation added a major infrastructure project to the original scope of the park design: The pedestrian bridge, and the redesign of the 4th Street Park.
The cost of both projects is approximately $20 million.
"I was honored to participate in 'Imagine LaSalle' back in 2018 with my son. We were given the opportunity to travel and experience other inspirational parks, and then provide input to envision our own world-class waterfront park in Buffalo. We dreamt big, including this new bridge that will provide a safer and more accessible connection from the Lower West Side to Ralph Wilson Park. I truly believe this park will be one of the most beautiful places in Buffalo," said Charlie Torres, Vice President of the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy Board of Directors.
The bridge design was chosen through a community-based design competition led by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute in early 2020. The community chose Schlaich Bergmann Partner (SBP), known for its creative, stylish, sustainable design of long-span bridges and towers throughout the world. The design illustrates an appreciation for Buffalo’s rich architectural and industrial heritage, coupled with a desire to create an innovative and optimized structure.
The final structure will be a tied-arch bridge with an enclosed steel arch that protects pedestrians from the noise and traffic below, while also creating a safe and welcoming crossing into the park.
The bridge, in four pieces, left the Cimolai manufacturing site in Italy in early June on a barge and traveled across the ocean and through the New York harbor. It was then loaded onto two barges at the Port of Coeymans near Albany, and started the final leg of its journey to Buffalo on the Erie Canal on Friday, July 5.
The second barge with the rest of the Ralph Wilson Park Bridge is expected to arrive in Buffalo sometime later this week.
Following the arrival, construction crews will begin to carefully remove the bridge from the barges and place the four pieces on shore. The bridge will then be welded together at Ralph Wilson Park, and is anticipated to be installed over the I-190 in early October 2024.
Additional construction work will take place on the bridge before Ralph Wilson Park begins opening in phases in 2026.
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