Better train tracks coming in Glenville business park

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The Glenville Business and Technology Park is shown in an undated aerial image provided by Schenectady County Metroplex.

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GLENVILLE — Train tracks in the Glenville Business and Technology Park will benefit from $420,000 in upgrades.

The park’s access to freight lines is one of its selling points, along with its close proximity to I-890 and the New York State Thruway. Together, the railroads and interstate highways put a large swath of the U.S. and Canadian population within reach of one-day delivery.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office on Monday announced a $300,000 grant to assist with the Glenville track work, part of $27.2 million awarded statewide through the Governor’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program.

Two other Capital Region projects will gain assistance in the round of grants announced Monday: Pan Am Southern, LLC will get $2.7 million to reconfigure and expand tracks at the Hoosick Junction Interchange in Rensselaer County and the Albany Port Railroad Corp. will get $1.2 million to replace an existing switcher locomotive with a clean diesel locomotive.

The $420,000 worth of track upgrades in Glenville will be performed in 2019 and are designed to support current and future manufacturing tenants.

The state is awarding $300,000 for the Glenville project to the Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency. The IDA will provide a $40,000 match. Two park tenants that will benefit from the work — Adirondack Beverages and Dimension Fabricators — will provide $40,000 each toward the project cost.

The work will include installation of new rails and crossings; removal of old switches; construction of a straight track to Adirondack; and installation of a turnout at Dimension.

Nearly 100 people work at Dimension and more than 300 at Adirondack.

The sprawling former U.S. Navy supply depot has benefited in recent years from infrastructure upgrades and construction of new space for tenants. The site has multiple owners and previously was two separate industrial parks: Corporations Park and Scotia-Glenville Industrial Park. They were combined into one for more effective marketing and renamed the Glenville Business and Technology Park to emphasize that it was not just for industrial tenants.

Gary Hughes, chairman of the Schenectady County IDA, said: “This funding will help two large manufacturing companies, Adirondack Beverages and Dimension Fabricators, retain 400 good paying jobs. Both companies rely on rail service and we were pleased to apply for this funding to support their continued job growth in Schenectady County. We thank Gov. Cuomo and the Department of Transportation for this funding and for their efforts to make the infrastructure improvements needed to support the growth of manufacturing jobs.”