October 21, 2004

"Bridging the Gap"

"Hinchey Appears on Span to Promise Cash for Railroad Bridge"

by Dan Barton

reprinted from the New Paltz Times

Taking a first step on the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, where one can look down through the metal safety grating and wooden ties straight to the Hudson River more than 200 feet below, can be an exhilarating and scary experience. But once you get past the little touch of vertigo, the view is well worth it.

Members of the Walkway over the Hudson group, stewards of the 19th-century span that's been largely unused since a fire broke out on it in 1974, hope they've taken the first steps to sharing that view with thousands and putting the bridge on the world's tourist maps.

Walkway board members, local officials, a few courageous members of the media - you know it's a good story when you have to sign a release to cover it - and U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, gathered on the bridge last Wednesday, October 13, to soak in a perfect fall day from an ideal vantage point and talk about the bridge's future.

The man from Washington said he was here to help. "It's really gorgeous, especially this time of year. ... It's a great place from which to see the Hudson River and to appreciate the Hudson River Valley," Hinchey said. "It gives you a great sense of the power and majesty of the Hudson River Valley."

Hinchey, noting that he serves on the House Appropriations Committee and that Congress will sooner or later get around to passing a transportation bill that could bring as much as $9 billion in federal swag for the Empire State, said he's in a good place to help the bridge get at least some of the money it needs before it can become the kind of world-class tourist attraction Walkway board members think it can be.

"That puts me in a position to be somewhat influential in determining how the federal government's money is spent," Hinchey said. "I can't think of a better way to do it, to spend some transportation money out of the transportation bill, than on this crossing, to make it a sterling piece of work. ... I'm very interested in working with the people locally here to protect and preserve it and to open it up so more people can come out here and enjoy this incredibly spectacular magnificent view."

Walkway over the Hudson members are currently applying to the state Environmental Protection Fund for about $35,000 to help pay for a $70,000 feasibility study. Walkway chairman Fred Schaeffer said the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency has promised $25,000 and the Dyson Foundation has agreed to chip in $10,000. The group, which holds title to both the 6,764-foot span and the land it sits on in both Dutchess and Ulster counties, says it hopes to find out if the bridge can be safely used as a path for bicycles and pedestrians and what kind of money it would take to make it one.

"It would be a big step forward. At that point, we would be able to come up with some real cost estimates," Schaeffer said. "Until then, we would just be pulling numbers out of the sky."

Schaeffer said the group hopes to have the bridge, finished in 1888 so trains could bring coal from Pennsylvania mines to New England, open by 2009, the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage up the river in the Half Moon and Samuel de Champlain's discovery of the large lake upstate that now bears his name. "We hope the bridge opening and use will be a cornerstone of that celebration."

Schaeffer said the group hopes to one day to provide access to the bridge from both Highland and Poughkeepsie. The bridge touches land near the Central Hudson substation in Highland and near Washington Street in Poughkeepsie. While it's much easier to get on the bridge from the Ulster side, Schaeffer said there's a possibility an elevator might be put in on the Dutchess side as a stopgap until the entrance can be fixed up properly.

Schaefer said while the Walkway group is seeking public money to get the bridge repair project rolling, the group still needs local volunteers and donations to help maintain the Highland entrance and the group's Poughkeepsie office. For more information, call (845) 454-9649 or log on to www.walkway.org.

A LOT OF POTENTIAL

Lloyd town supervisor Robert Shepard and city of Poughkeepsie mayor Nancy Cozean also braved the bridge for Wednesday's press conference. Cozean said the bridge could be a boon for the area and bring together communities on both side of the river. "Trails are opening up on this side of the river, on that side of the river," Cozean said. "I think there's a real intermunicipal spirit in which cities and counties work closer together. Ten years ago, people looked at this bridge as a real headache, now today, we're looking at it as an asset. Now is the time for this project to move forward."

Shepard said being up on the bridge again - he helped fight the 1974 fire - reminded him of how special the Hudson Valley is. "I think we tend to forget what we have here, until you go somewhere else on vacation and someone asks you where you're from, and you say the Hudson Valley, and they say, 'Oh man, I love that place! The mansions, and the river and the little towns!' It makes you appreciate your area even more."

Walkway over the Hudson trustee Dave Tobias said reopening the bridge could be the start of something really big. "We think it will be the key to the Hudson Valley. People will talk about wanting to come to the Hudson Valley to walk across the railroad bridge and enjoy that breathtaking view and the serenity."

Tobias also pointed out a salient fact: If you don't spend money to fix it up, you're going to have to spend money to one day take it down.

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