Tonko Announces $487K Grant for City of Rensselaer to Construct Timber Bridge Over Quackenderry Creek

RENSSELAER, NY - Today, Congressman Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) announced that the City of Rensselaer has been awarded $487,174 in federal funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission's (NBRC) Timber for Transit program to design and construct a timber bridge over Quackenderry Creek. Once constructed, this bridge will provide residents and visitors with safe, permanent access into the City-owned property known as The Hollow.

Separate from this funding, Tonko is also pushing for additional federal dollars for the City of Rensselaer Hollow Trail through the Fiscal Year 2027 Community Project Funding Process. That project would fund development of a trailhead at The Hollow's southern entry-point, add accessible parking, and better connect existing trails. Further details on that project can be found HERE.

"I'm thrilled to announce this significant award that will bring new recreational opportunities and lasting infrastructural improvements to the City of Rensselaer," Congressman Tonko said. "With this new bridge, residents and visitors to the City will have a safe, permanent point of access to The Hollow, improving connectivity to nearby businesses by linking existing trails to other natural assets in the area. I'm proud to celebrate this grant, and I'm eager to see the benefits this project will bring to the City of Rensselaer and to our region as a whole."

"The Rensselaer Hollow Trail Project will create a nearly 2-mile paved off-road trail through the Hollow Preserve, connecting several residential neighborhoods with the Rensselaer City School District campus. We are most grateful to Congressman Tonko and the Northern Border Regional Commission for the Timber-For-Transit funded bridge that will enable the trail to cross the Quackenderry Creek which runs from East Greenbush, through Rensselaer, to the Hudson River," said John DeFrancesco, Mayor of the City of Rensselaer. "Also, with the help of Congressman Tonko, we are seeking funding for a welcoming Trail Head into the Hollow that will have parking, a play area and informational kiosks as well as on-road connections to several existing trails in the community (the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail, the Empire State Trail, the Rensselaer Waterfront Trail and the Multi-Use Path being added to the new Livingston Avenue Bridge) that will make the Hollow Trail an accessible resource for the broader community," concluded Mayor DeFrancesco.

The Northern Border Regional Commission is a Federal-State partnership for economic and community development in northern Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. Each year, the NBRC provides federal funding for critical economic and community development projects throughout the northeast, leading to the creation of new jobs and the leveraging of substantial private sector investments.

The NBRC's Timber for Transit program advances the use of wood materials and composites through applied research and demonstration projects that showcase the suitability of such materials in transportation and transportation-adjacent infrastructure, in alignment with state and community initiatives. These projects help to demonstrate and promote the utility of high value forest products in transportation infrastructure and planning for extreme weather readiness.