TOP TEN: Things You Should Know About the Walkway Over the Hudson

1. Walkway Over the Hudson, a nonprofit organization, has worked since 1992 to create a linear park located on the 120-year old, Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge. Their grass-roots effort paid off, and they received both federal and private funding needed to research, plan and implement this project, whichwill connect the rail trails of Dutchess and Ulster County.
   
   
2. The finished Walkway willfeature a 1.25 mile linear park, creating the longestwalkway bridge in the world!
   
   
3. Visitors will have theopportunity to walk, jog, and cycle or simply sightsee on the bridge, all while being 212-feet over the Hudson River. It will provide and opportunity for unique views at the Catskills and other highlights of the Hudson River Valley.
   
   
4. The bridge will feature separate walking and biking paths, attractive lighting fixtures, benches, shaded areas and many other amenities to provide comfort and convenience for all those who visit this landmark.
   
   
5. The cost of projected construction is $35.5 million, however, the Walkway’s many economic contributions and cultural benefits make it, financially, a superior option to spending the estimated $54 million it would cost (according to a 2007 Bergmann Associates’ study) to dismantle the bridge.
   
   
6. When it was completed in 1888, the 6,767-foot Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge stood alone as the longest bridge in the world. At the peak of the Industrial Revolution, the bridge was hailed as the “Great Connector” because it provided the first efficient rail link between the Western coal supplies and the Eastern markets.
   
   
7. Many historical features have earned the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge a place on the National Historic Registrar.
   
   
8. The bridge will open in September 2009, as a legacy project for the celebration of Henry Hudson’s initial voyage up the river 400 years ago.
   
   
9. It is expected to draw up to 276,000 visits annually, according to a 2007 Camoin Associates’ study, positively impacting the Mid-Hudson Valley economically, culturally and recreationally.
   
   
10. Fred Schaeffer, president of Walkway Over the Hudson, who is coordinating the project, recently gave an update on the project’s progress, “Three weeks ago, the firm removing the old deck completed their work. They were two weeks ahead of schedule. Right after that Harrison & Burrows Bridge Construction, our general contractor, took over the sire and prepared it for the next phase—installing the new deck.”