Buffalo-bound pedestrian bridge enters Erie Canal

COEYMANS, NEW YORK — The impressive entrance to Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Park has left the Capital Region and begun the final leg of its transatlantic journey along the Erie Canal, Carver Companies announced Friday.

The Ralph Wilson Park Bridge will serve as the gateway to Ralph Wilson Park, a massive community-led redevelopment project transforming a 100-plus acre waterfront park in the City of Buffalo into a world-class recreational destination.

The Ralph Wilson Park Bridge left Italy last month in four large sections aboard the commercial vessel Aralia. It crossed New York Harbor on June 22 and traveled up the Hudson River to Coeymans Harbor. Carver Companies, which owns and operates the marine terminal south of Albany, then took possession of the bridge and successfully unloaded the sections onto two 200-foot-long barges.

The structure is expected to arrive in Buffalo on July 15.

Once assembled and installed, the 266-foot bridge will span I-190 and the CSX freight rail line, connecting Buffalo’s Lower West Side to the transformed park, which is scheduled to open in phases in 2026.