In advance of its Oct. 3 opening, designers of the Walkway Over the Hudson have linked it with other trails to get tourists off the bridge and into the surrounding landscape of businesses and recreational activities.
The new Walkway Loop Trail will connect Walkway Over the Hudson ”“ the refurbished 212-foot-high Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge ”“ and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge, incorporating a number of roads and existing trails for a total length of approximately 3.5 miles.
Both the trail and the walkway ”“ New York”™s grandest quadricentiennial project by far ”“ are slated to open Oct. 3.
The trail will make available to visitors an array of scenic and cultural destinations and should help promote business and recreational activity along nearby shorelines and downtowns on both sides of the Hudson.
Next year”™s walkway upgrade calls for an elevator that will provide direct access to the walkway from Poughkeepsie”™s waterfront.
To help visitors navigate the Walkway Loop Trail, organizers are creating four large anels that will show the entire route as well as connections to additional trails. More than 25 Walkway Loop Trail markers will be erected and copies of a trail map will be available.
According to Walkway Over the Hudson and Scenic Hudson, the environmental group spearheading, along with others, the bridge-turned-park, the new trail will spur tourism. They report Dutchess County currently receives $447 million annually in tourist dollars, while Ulster earns $388 million.
