Highway to heaven - Westfair Communications

The nonprofit that owns the off-limits Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge and is dedicated to making it a walkway across “the river that flows both ways” hopes to accomplish its mission in time for the 2009 quadricentennial of Henry Hudson”™s journey up the river that bears his name. That Hudson “discovered” the river 10,000 years after its shores were settled by natives who named it for its tidal nature is beside the point. Everyone loves a birthday. And, the thinking goes, everyone will love taking in one of the planet”™s great waterways from the 6,767-foot span ”“ 3,093 feet of it above water.

Those on board with the project compare its potential drawing power to that of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was the longest bridge in the world when it opened in 1888, but has been closed since a fire on it in 1974.

To make the Erector Set-like bridge stroll worthy, Walkway Over the Hudson must raise millions ”“ perhaps $10 million ”“ by next April. The group has just hired Amy Husten, former projects manager at the Guggenheim Museum, as executive director to oversee the fundraising effort.

It”™s not the first instance in the history of the bridge calling for a Herculean effort, said Fred Schaeffer, chair of the group. Schaeffer made his remarks at a sold-out dinner hosted by the Southern Ulster Chamber of Commerce at the Ship Lantern Inn, in Milton, Oct. 30. The dinner was sponsored by McCabe & Mack L.L.P., a Poughkeepsie- based law firm, in an appropriate spirit of cross-county, across-the-river cooperation.

The original charter to construct the bridge, which was the first span erected between Albany and New York City, called for it to be completed within three years, despite the fact many observers believed the depth of the river and the length of the span posed impossible challenges. But in 1888 the first train rumbled across, right on schedule, something of an engineering miracle.

One hundred and twenty years later, it”™s a lobbying miracle that needs to happen. But after hearing Schaeffer and the evening”™s two other presenters ”“ Diana Gurieve, executive vice president at the Dyson Foundation, and Nancy Cozean, mayor of Poughkeepsie ”“ make their pitches, getting the funds seems not only feasible, but essential to anyone who cares about the future of the mid-Hudson Valley.

As Schaeffer noted, the “great connector,” as it was known a century ago, would be the longest pedestrian bridge in the world, potentially giving it the mythic status and worldwide recognition of San Francisco”™s Golden Gate Bridge. “We don”™t really do bridges, but we got captivated about creating something as iconic as this,” said Gurieve, noting that the Dyson Foundation kicked in $1.5 million after $895,000 in federal funds obtained by U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, including a 20 percent match by Walkway Over the Hudson, got bogged down in delays.

She added that a key element in the Dyson Foundation”™s decision was the “incredibly hard-working, incredibly directed, good-spirited board of directors. They represent all that is best of volunteerism in the city and the Hudson Valley. It was an impossible dream, but they sold us on it.”

The Dyson and Hinchey grants are paying for the inspection of the steel structure and the design for the walkway. What needs to be raised now is a minimum of $10 million for the construction of the walkway. That amount would fund a 10-foot-wide walkway. Schaeffer said ideally, the walkway would be 34 feet wide, the total width of the bridge, at least for the section that spans the river. Amenities such as elevators at either end, lighting and parking would add to the expense. The organization has hired planning consultants, who will be making specific suggestions.

Schaeffer said it will take a year to do the construction. That means the pre-cast concrete pallets must be ordered in April to allow enough time for their manufacture before delivery next September.

Millbrook resident Husten said that her task at Walkway Over the Hudson is not that different from her job at the Guggenheim, which required her to conduct long-term feasibility studies for the opening of museum branches in different parts of the world, a process involving many different stakeholders. “Raising the additional funds is doable. It depends on the commitment of the state,” she said, adding that “it”™s a good thing there is time pressure. It”™ll make the project less expensive because we”™re forced to be efficient.”

The bridge walkway would connect at either end with rail trails. If all the links are assembled, people will be able to bike or walk all the way from New Paltz to Hopewell Junction.

Mayor Cozean of Poughkeepsie said the bridge project complements beautifully the waterside redevelopment currently under way in her city, which is the lead agency for the project. (A few days after the dinner, the Poughkeepsie Common Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to contract with engineering firm Bergmann Associates to do a design study for the walkway.) She”™s particularly excited about the walkway”™s role in the new industrial corridor, an area of small manufacturers and businesses that will have close proximity to the pedestrian bridge and extending rail path.

“New businesses don”™t want to be in an isolated area,” she said. “This is another selling point for businesses to come to the area,” since the walkway would be accessible to employees during their lunch hour. Pedestrian access would also be provided to the residents of new affordable housing that”™s being built in the enterprise zone.

Schaeffer said he was almost certain there would be no charge to access the bridge. Once construction is completed, the plan is for his organization to hand over jurisdiction of the bridge to the government, with the structure likely becoming a state park.