Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newburgh-Beacon Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Newburgh-Beacon Bridge from Beacon, NY |
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| Official name | Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge |
| Carries | 6 lanes of I-84 and NY 52 |
| Crosses | Hudson River |
| Locale | Newburgh, New York and Beacon, New York |
| Maintained by | New York State Bridge Authority |
| Design | Twin span Cantilever bridges |
| Longest span | 304.8 meters (1,000 feet) |
| Total length | 2,374 meters (7,789 feet) 2,394 meters (7,855 feet) |
| AADT | 65,000 |
| Opening date | November 2, 1963 (westbound) November 1, 1980 (eastbound) |
| Toll | Cars $1.00 (eastbound) |
| Maps and aerial photos | |
The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, (officially the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge) is a cantilever toll bridge that spans the Hudson River in New York State carrying NY 52 and I-84 between Newburgh and Beacon. The first (westbound, north of other span) span was opened to traffic on November 2, 1963 as a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge.
Although original plans called for a four-lane bridge, funding difficulties resulted in the reduction in lanes. This span was designed by Modjeski & Masters and constructed by Frederick Snare, Drave and Bethlehem Steel.
By 1964, the original two-lane structure was already over capacity[1], and planning for additional capacity began in 1972. After considering doubledecking (which the original bridge was not designed for) the decision was taken by NYSBA to add a second parallel span south of the original.
The original span was made of steel that needs painting, but the newer span is made of "rusting" steel, (believed to be COR-TEN or a similar material although sources are not clear) which surface corrodes to a brown color and does not need painting as corrosion does not go deeper. On November 1, 1980, this second, parallel span, also designed by Modjeski & Masters but constructed by American Bridge Company, was opened to traffic. The original span was closed for renovation, to add a lane and to paint it brown to match the color of the new span, from December 1980 to June 1984. In 1997, the bridge was officially renamed the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. It is still more commonly referred to by its original name.
Today, then, there are actually two spans;
- The westbound (northern) bridge, opened in 1963 carrying one lane of traffic in each direction. Today it accommodates three 12-foot travel lanes and with no shoulders. Variable lane-use signs allow the right lane to be designated as a breakdown lane at night and off-peak travel times. When the right lane is being used as a shoulder, a red X appears on the signs above it, while a green arrow illuminates when the lane is used for travel during peak times.
- The newer eastbound span was built with three 12-foot travel lanes, a 10-foot right shoulder, a 6-foot left shoulder and pedestrian sidewalk separated from the roadway by a concrete barrier. Because the eastbound span was built with shoulders, there is no need to reduce the travel lanes to two during off-peak times.
The span provides connections to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) and US 9W in Newburgh and US 9 in Fishkill. The bridges includes a 2,204 foot (672 m) cantilever span, with a main span of 1,000 feet (305 m) and side spans of 602 feet (183 m). The total length of all spans and approaches is 7855 feet (2394 m) for the north span and 7789 feet (2374 m) for the south span.
The bridges, owned by the New York State Bridge Authority, carry six lanes of traffic and approximately 65,000 vehicles per day. The eastbound (newer) bridge is the only portion of I-84 where there are three lanes not intended as exit/merge lanes ("acceleration/deceleration lanes").
Eastbound passenger vehicles are charged a toll of $1 to cross the span. The toll plaza is located on the eastern (Beacon) shore.
[edit] Awards, Records, and Trivia
- The original bridge won the 1965 American Institute of Steel Construction "most beautiful bridge" award for long span bridges. Modeski & Masters used a curved cantilever rather than the more typical peaked cantilever as seen on (for example) the Tappan Zee Bridge.
- The newer bridge was claimed to be the longest bridge constructed of COR-TEN material when opened.
- The bridge spans are as of late 2005 the 19th longest cantilever spans in the world.
- The bridge is named after Hamilton Fish, former Governor of New York, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State.
- Due to the numbers of increased suicide attempts in the last decade, call boxes have been installed at varying intervals along the bridge, in hopes of reducing the amounts of suicide attempts.
- The western terminus of the bridge is actually not in the City of Newburgh, but in the Town of Newburgh. The city limits of the City of Newburgh are less than a mile to the south.
- The eastern terminus, on the other hand, is within the City Limits of the City of Beacon --- but by only a few feet. By the time the eastbound motorist has reached the first exit on the east shore, Exit 11, he or she has passed into the Town of Fishkill.
- The pedestrian crosswalk is extremely popular with local hikers, joggers, and bicyclists, who used to park under the Grand Avenue overpass in the Town of Newburgh, the western terminus of the pathway. On any weekend, the casual visitor encounters travellers of all ages utilizing the crosswalk. In the wake of 9/11, the New York State Bridge Authority prohibited parking under the overpass for security reasons. After an outcry from the hikers (as well as from homeowners whose property was often violated by the parking needs of the newly-dispossessed crosswalk users), the Bridge Authority provided two parking lots to accommodate them, just north of the overpass on either side of Grand Avenue.
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[edit] External links
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