Mid-Hudson Bridge
| Mid-Hudson Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 41°42′11″N 73°56′46″W / 41.70306°N 73.94611°WCoordinates: 41°42′11″N 73°56′46″W / 41.70306°N 73.94611°W |
| Carries | 3 lanes of   US 44 / NY 55
|
| Crosses | Hudson River |
| Locale | Highland, New York and Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Official name | Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge |
| Maintained by | New York State Bridge Authority |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 3,000 feet (910 m) |
| Longest span | 1,500 feet (460 m) |
| Clearance above | 135 feet (41 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | August 25, 1930 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | $1.50 passenger cars, eastbound only |
The Mid-Hudson Bridge (officially the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge) is a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. Governor and local resident Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended the opening ceremony on August 25, 1930. The bridge was renamed the "Franklin D. Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge" in 1994 though the span is rarely referred to by its official name.
The bridge is 3,000 feet (910 m) long with a clearance of 135 feet (41 m) above the Hudson. At opening, it was the sixth-longest suspension bridge in the world. The chief engineer was Polish immigrant Ralph Modjeski, who had previously engineered the strengthening of the nearby Poughkeepsie Railroad bridge. Primary contractor was the American Bridge Company of Ambridge, Pennsylvania with steel from Carnegie. The span is unusual in that stiffening trusses were intentionally constructed on top of, not below, the deck.
The toll for passenger vehicles is $1.50 (cash) and $1.25 (E-Z Pass) for eastbound traffic only.
Proposals for the Mid-Hudson span were proposed by state legislature in 1923. At that time, there were no fixed crossings across the river south of Albany. The Bear Mountain Bridge in Westchester County and the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan were under construction at that time. Governor Alfred E. Smith signed the bill in June 1923. Construction would be undertaken by the New York State Department of Public Works (now the New York State Department of Transportation).
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Wikipedia