Troy

On a cloudy Thursday morning, it was a study in contrasts. Cruise ship passengers disembarked from the American Star while a few feet away, workers in hard hats poured concrete to rehabilitate the crumbling seawall that ships, barges and pleasure boats depend on to dock in downtown Troy.

The project is nearing completion, so far costing about $26.3 million. Officials have found plenty of surprises along the wall, which serves a number of purposes, from protecting the shoreline from erosion to cutting the chances of flooding while providing anchorage for river traffic.

The river bottom has varied in height, and currents have eroded some of the ground behind the wall.

"It's a moving target," said Jan Peterson, resident engineer for CHA, the Latham engineering firm in charge of the project. "It changes from week to week depending on river flows."

Peterson and city officials, including Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and Todd Dickinson, chief engineering aide for the city of Troy, viewed the wall's progress from a small tugboat.

A trunk sewer line sits behind the wall, carrying sewage to a treatment plant farther south. In places, the ground beneath had eroded, and engineers have said the new wall is needed to prevent future erosion and a break that would dump untreated sewage from Troy and surrounding communities directly into the Hudson.

In addition to 150 precast reinforced concrete wall sections, the project will also have consumed an estimated 7,000 cubic yards of concrete by the time it's completed. That's the equivalent of 700 truckloads.

Climate change is another threat. This year, river flows have increased thanks to heavier precipitation in Adirondack lakes and reservoirs. Buildings along River Street have flooded during high water conditions.

The new wall will increase the flood stage by three feet, said Dickinson, ideally protecting those buildings from flooding. "That's the hope," he added.

While much of the seawall is being rebuilt, other parts are being rehabilitated and reinforced. Particularly tricky was the work underneath the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que building directly on the river's edge just south of the Green Island Bridge, where the foundation had been shored up, and enough space added to include a walkway between the restaurant and the water.

The project is key to enabling other downtown enhancements to move forward.

A new marina and boat docks are planned from just south of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel to the Riverfront Park. North of the Green Island Bridge, a permanent marina building will be constructed with showers and bathrooms for boaters, as well as services such as sewer pumpout, diesel fuel and gas, and electrical hookups.

Boaters "can overnight here," said Peterson.

Those planning shorter visits, perhaps to visit a downtown restaurant or shop, can tie up for a few hours at the new docks planned for south of the Green Island Bridge.

New amenities, including lighting, landscaping and parking, are planned for what's being called Park North, a riverfront area just north of the Green Island Bridge by the marina.

Eventually the riverfront trail will connect the city's new Ingalls Avenue boat launch to the Poestenkill in South Troy. Madden said the trail would also serve Troy's North Central neighborhood.

Troy's riverfront for many years was lined with abandoned warehouses and factories, until residents began rediscovering its appeal in the wake of infrastructure projects in the early 1970s that attempted to harness and treat the sewage that had flowed into the Hudson.

Many of the old buildings have been redeveloped into apartments and lofts, while offices, hotels and banquet facilities such as Franklin Plaza, River Street Market and Brown's Brewing Co. have located near the river. Restaurateur Angelo Mazzone, meanwhile, is working with developer Kevin Bette on a massive rooftop catering and meeting facility at the Hedley Building, where Cluett, Peabody & Co. once manufactured Arrow shirts.

In Troy, "no one's really more than a couple of miles away from the Hudson River," observed John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Madden. "The city is seven miles long, but only three miles wide at its widest."

The city has become a popular stopping point for boaters traveling between the Midwest or Canada and New York City. The American Star was an example of what could be. Last week, for example, three cruise ships were docked at the Riverfront Park at the same time.

And while Albany long ago sealed off its downtown with a multi-lane expressway, Green Island and Cohoes are capitalizing on their riverfronts with a number of apartment projects featuring balconies with river views.

The river wall is expected to be in place by next year, with the marina to follow. Paying for the project will take a bit longer. While the city has lined up a $14 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the rest will be financed with long-term bonds.

The city's credit rating has been upgraded twice since he took office, said Madden. And that should help keep the lid on financing charges.

"Long-term rates are unheard of right now," the mayor added.