Hudson Valley Bridges: Crossings and Spans Over the Hudson River
Cross purposes: The Valley’s buzzing about the new TZB. But what about our other bridges?
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Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
The Newburgh-Beacon carries Interstate 84 over the river. Similar to the Tappan Zee, which Interstate 287 traverses, the Newburgh-Beacon’s capacity was originally underestimated. As the highway grew busier, the two-lane crossing quickly got snarled with lines of cars and trucks, so a second span was added 17 years later.
Officially named the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, for New York’s 16th governor (he was also a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State), the span is the most used of the five by a long shot.
But that popularity comes with a cost: Wear and tear means the southern side is about to get an $80 million deck replacement makeover to extend its life by 40 years The three-year project will temporarily narrow it from three lanes to two.
- Type: truss
- Length: 7,855 feet, north span; 7,789 feet, south span
- Year opened: 1963; 1980
- Designer: Modjeski & Masters Engineering
- Main view: Putnam County hills
- Tolls: $1.50 cash; $1.25 E-ZPass
- Traffic: 24.7 million in 2011
- Pedestrian-friendliness: decent; walkway on the south span only
- Suicide prevention system: phones
Read on for more fun facts about your local bridges:
- Bear Mountain Bridge
- Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
- Mid-Hudson Bridge
- Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
- Rip Van Winkle Bridge
