ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Governor Kathy Hochul issued a challenge to her local team on Tuesday regarding the Aqueduct Project, which aims to remove Broad Street over the Genesee River and create a pedestrian promenade.

“And we promise we’re going to work on the aqueduct, right? We’re moving along with that local team? Okay – I want that done. Okay?” Governor Hochul said at the ribbon cutting for the new Constellation Brands headquarters.

Broad Street is a bridge. So the idea is to get rid of the top part of the bridge or part of it and create a pedestrian promenade across the river. Then build a walkway by the new Constellation Brands to allow people to walk along the river bank to High Falls.

Vinnie Esposito, the head of Empire State Development in Rochester, said, “This was one of the key pieces. Basically saying this bridge, this historic aqueduct is more valuable as pedestrian accessible public space and not just a vehicular bridge for cars to travel back and forth across the river on.”

The city is currently working on several concepts for the project, ranging from removing half of Broad Street to a design that snakes over the aqueducts with walking underneath, to a middle path, to no upper level at all.

When asked about the project after the event, Governor Hochul confirmed, “Yes, we announced this some time ago and it’s in the planning stages.”

Esposito emphasized the importance of the project, saying, “Every successful American city, or probably any city anywhere, really utilizes and values and takes advantage of its waterfront and we’re starting to do that.”

However, the project is still in the early stages. Esposito says we’re well over a year from getting the final design and then there’s more work to do, including construction. So it’s down the road. But they do see this as that piece of the puzzle that, when it’s built, will tie all the work they’re doing around the river together.

For years, the idea was to pump water from the river into the aqueduct, restoring the original Erie Canal. However, for practical reasons, that idea is off the table.

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