Editing Interstate 787 (section)

==History==
[[File:787Troy.JPG|thumb|left|[[Collar City Bridge]] traveling west (south on I-787)]]
Construction began in the early 1960s on the first segment of I-787 from [[Interstate 87 (New York)|I-87]] to Bassett Street.<ref>{{cite map |title=New York and Metropolitan New York |publisher=[[Sinclair Oil Corporation]] |year=1962 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |title=New York and Metropolitan New York |publisher=Sinclair Oil Corporation |year=1964 |cartography=Rand McNally and Company}}</ref> It was completed and opened to traffic in the mid-1960s. By 1968, construction had begun on the remainder of I-787 south of [[Watervliet, New York|Watervliet]].<ref name="1965map">{{cite map |publisher=[[Rand McNally and Company]] |title=New York |year=1965}}</ref><ref name="1968map">{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=[[Esso]] |year=1968 |edition=1969–70 |cartography=[[General Drafting]]}}</ref> The portion of the highway between [[Interstate 90 in New York|I-90]] and [[New York State Route 378|NY&nbsp;378]] was completed by 1971;<ref name="1971map">{{cite map |publisher=[[Humble Oil & Refining Company]] |title=New York |year=1971 |cartography=General Drafting}}</ref> the rest of I-787 south of 23rd Street in Watervliet was built and open to traffic by 1973.<ref name="1973map">{{cite map|publisher=[[Standard Oil]]|title=Northeastern United States With Interstate Strip Maps|year=1973|edition=1973–74|cartography=[[Universal Printing Company]]}}</ref> The ramps from the [[South Mall Arterial]] were opened in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |title=Road Ramps Opening in Albany Today |newspaper=Schenectady Gazette |date=April 30, 1974 |access-date= March 10, 2010 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YmMtAAAAIBAJ&dq=interstate%20787&pg=3975%2C3615599 |page=9}}</ref> An extension of the freeway north to Arch Street near [[Green Island, New York|Green Island]] was completed by 1977.<ref>{{cite map |title=New York |publisher=[[Exxon]] |year=1977 |edition=1977–78 |cartography=General Drafting}}</ref> By 1980, the majority of modern exit&nbsp;9 was completed even though the [[Collar City Bridge]] and the "[[Alternate Route&nbsp;7]]" freeway had yet to be constructed.<ref name="troy south topo">{{cite map |url=http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/quads/drg24/usgspreview/index.cfm?code=o42073f6 |title=Troy South Quadrangle – New York |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |series=7.5 Minute Series (Topographic) |year=1980 |scale=1:24,000 |access-date=January 27, 2010 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065316/http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/quads/drg24/usgspreview/index.cfm?code=o42073f6 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Collar City Bridge over the [[Hudson River]] was built in 1981, connecting the preexisting ramps at exit&nbsp;9 to downtown [[Troy, New York|Troy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Structure 1070869 |author=Federal Highway Administration |work=[[National Bridge Inventory]] |publisher=[[United States Department of Transportation]] |year=2008}}</ref>

When I-787 was first planned, its northern terminus was at [[U.S. Route 4 in New York|US&nbsp;4]] in Troy. On January 1, 1970, the I-787 designation was truncated westward to what is now exit&nbsp;9 near Green Island while the then-proposed Collar City Bridge became (albeit on paper) part of [[Interstate 88 (New York)|I-88]], a new highway extending from [[Binghamton, New York|Binghamton]] to Troy by way of the [[Susquehanna Expressway]] and Alternate Route&nbsp;7.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.greaternyroads.info/pdfs/state70.pdf |title=Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State |date=January 1, 1970 |author=State of New York Department of Transportation |author-link=State of New York Department of Transportation |access-date=January 27, 2010}}</ref> The extension of I-88 never materialized as Alternate Route&nbsp;7 ended up becoming a realignment of NY&nbsp;7 when it was completed in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite map |publisher=Rand McNally and Company |title=New York |year=1985 |isbn=0-528-91040-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |publisher=[[DeLorme Mapping]] |title=Upstate New York City Street Maps |edition=1st |year=1990 |cartography=DeLorme Mapping |scale=1" = 1/2 mile |page=39 |section=D1 |isbn=0-89933-300-1}}</ref>
[[File:I-787Exit3Shift.JPG|thumb|right|Northbound ramp that slipped off its supports, supported by temporary tower]]

In 2005, an elevated section of the northbound exit&nbsp;3 [[offramp]] slipped off its supports, causing temporary closure of the ramp and causing disruption of the flow of traffic into the [[Empire State Plaza]]. The ramp connects I-787 with the South Mall Arterial. Initially, most roads and ramps near or under the elevated highway were closed, but, once temporary piers were in place, most roads reopened. A detour was set up to allow northbound traffic to enter the plaza, but it required crossing the [[Hudson River]] over the [[Dunn Memorial Bridge]] and traveling through the city of [[Rensselaer, New York|Rensselaer]] to get back on the bridge, allowing access into the plaza.<ref>{{cite news |title=A slow road to ramp repairs |last=Woodruff |first=Cathy |newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]] |location=[[Albany, New York|Albany, NY]] |date=August 2, 2005 |page=A1 |url=http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6350175 |access-date=March 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506002136/http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6350175 |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The slip caused the south end of a simple span of the overpass to drop about {{convert|2|ft|m|spell=in}}. The pier stands {{convert|80|ft|m}} tall at the slippage point.  Nobody was seriously injured by the slipped ramp.<ref name="slip">{{cite news |title='Good' ramp goes bad |last=Nearing |first=Brian |newspaper=Times Union |location=Albany, NY |page=A1 |url=http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6349651 |date=July 29, 2005 |access-date=March 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506002129/http://archives.timesunion.com/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6349651 |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In March 2018, New York Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] announced that his administration had awarded $3.1&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|3100000|2018}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) toward the conversion of a little-used I-787 exit ramp into a park called the Albany Skyway. The park, which connects downtown Albany to the Hudson River waterfront, opened on April 29, 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Let-s-take-a-walk-Albany-s-Skyway-opens-to-17138748.php | title=Let's take a walk: Albany's Skyway opens to fanfare | date=April 30, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-announces-3-1-million-for-Albany-Skyway-12729227.php|title=Cuomo announces $3.1 million for Albany Skyway park|date=March 5, 2018|website=Times Union}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Fix-or-replace-Reconstructing-787-would-cost-12753743.php|title=Study identifies what to do, and not do, with 787|date=March 14, 2018|website=Times Union}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Governor Cuomo Announces Construction on the Albany Skyway to Begin This Month|url=https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-construction-albany-skyway-begin-month|access-date=2021-07-27|website=www.governor.ny.gov|language=en|archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727022420/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-construction-albany-skyway-begin-month|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Regional Economic Development Council initiated the Albany Skyway project with a $350,000 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|350000|2016|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) grant in 2016.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Hughes|first=Steve|date=2021-03-17|title=Construction of Albany's elevated Skyway park starts this month|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Skyway-construction-to-start-this-month-16032381.php|access-date=2021-10-28|website=Times Union|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=2021-10-19|title=Finding a Creative Way Around a Bad Highway|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-19/by-water-and-air-albany-seeks-to-bypass-a-bad-highway|access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref> With funding from federal grants, city revitalization funds, and a $3.1-million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|3100000|2018}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) NYSDOT award, the city enacted a plan to deconstruct parts of I-787 and create a multiuse design.<ref name=":0" /> The half-mile ({{Convert|0.5|mi|km|disp=output only}}) Albany Skyway path, completed in 2022, links the downtown area of Albany with the Hudson River waterfront nature preserve.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last=DeMasi |first=Michael |date=March 16, 2021 |title=Albany Skyway expected to open by end of this year |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2021/03/16/albany-skyway-construction.html |work=Albany Business Review |accessdate=October 28, 2021}}</ref> As a form of community equitable planning, the skyway aims to provide equal opportunities to access natural space, in the form of a park for underserved areas in the city.<ref name=":1" />