I have lived in the Albany area my whole life, and there have been plenty of changes. Even if you haven’t lived in the area for long, I’m sure you’ve seen a good amount of changes. As I was driving into Albany the other day, I started to think about one particular area. It was the Watervliet Avenue area. Before Everett Road was extended from Albany to Colonie, and Watervliet Avenue Extension were built, there was a bridge that connected Albany to Colonie from Watervliet Avenue to Sand Creek Road. This part of Colonie is actually the Hamlet of West Albany.

In the early 1960s, we lived on Clinton Avenue in Albany. I had some relatives that lived in West Albany. When we would visit them, my dad would have to drive over the West Albany Bridge (as everyone called it). It was a rickety old bridge that carried traffic over railroad tracks. The bridge also carried gas on a pipe mounted to the top of the bridge rail. To this day, anyone that remembers the bridge can tell you about how nervous people would be to cross it, because they either worried about a gas explosion, or just getting into an accident on the narrow bridge.

 

Site Of The West Albany Bridge
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West Albany Bridge
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West Albany Bridge Area Today
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I did live in that part of west Albany for a few years. That was long after the bridge was torn down.

If you’re wondering why the bridge was finally demolished, it was to make way for a very busy roadway called I-90. Plus a newer and safer bridge was built connecting Albany and Colonie, and Everett Road was extended from Colonie. What are some of the things that you remember that are no longer around?

 

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