The Hudson River Way is a pedestrian bridge that links Broadway in downtown Albany, New York with the Corning Preserve on the bank of the Hudson River. The bridge crosses Interstate 787.HistoryThe Hudson River Way was intended to spark downtown and riverfront growth in Albany. The bridge's 8.5 million dollar cost was covered by the municipal government, the New York State Department of Transportation ($3.3 million including an Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act grant), and over 11,000 individuals, businesses, and other organizations who purchased personalized bricks to support the bridge's construction, which started in April 2001. These bricks now pave the structure. The grand opening was on August 10, 2002.MuralsThe bridge has thirty concrete nine-foot obelisk-lampposts that feature trompe l'oeil still-life paintings by AlbanyMural Ltd. The Hudson River Way paintings were awarded the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Award in 2004 for exceptional quality.Sponsored by individuals and organizations, each mural depicts a historical period or event in Albany's history, from prehistoric times to the present. Many of the paintings are based on archaeological artifacts in area museums. Research for the composition of the paintings took 18 months and involved dozens of experts and historians from across the Capital District. The paintings themselves took two years to complete and were executed by principal artist Jan-Marie Spanard and assistant artist Koren Lazarou.
