The Hudson River has often been compared with the Rhine River in Germany. Yours truly grew up on the Rhine River, and I know why the comparison is made. The Hudson’s shores are steep, it is in most parts quite wide (up to 3 miles), and it conveys a majestic beauty, all like the Rhine. Railway tracks run on both shores close to the water, carrying cargo traffic on one side, and passenger traffic on the other, also similar to the Rhine River. The river also represents a formidable geographic divide; while it has served as a key waterway to explore and serve the Midwest and the Western United States via the Erie Canal, it at the same time made it difficult for traffic to cross from bank to bank. As soon as the shore railways were opened in 1851 and 1866, the need for bridges became clear. Since then, a total of 17 bridges have been build across the lower Hudson River between New York City and Albany. Join us to get to know them.
George Washington Bridge
Well known to most New York City visitors. Built in 1931. The lower deck was added in 1962. They must have hopelessly overbuild the bridge in 1931, at least I hope so…
New Tappan Zee Bridge
The newest of the bridges, opened in 2017. It crosses the Hudson River at its widest spot, is 3.1 miles (5 km) wide, and cost $4,000,000,000. The new bridge replaced the old Tappan Zee Bridge built in 1955. The old bridge lasted only 63 years because it was built during the Korean war when material shortages were the norm.
Bear Mountain Bridge
The first automobile bridge over the lower Hudson. At its completion in 1924, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
The northern bridge was opened in 1963, the southern in 1980. The older bridge has to be painted regularly, whereas the newer bridge was build from a special steel where the corroded surface layer (“patina”) is stable over time (at least that is what is hoped for).
Mid-Hudson Bridge
Is this a combination of suspension and truss bridge?
The Mid-Hudson Bridge, built in 1930.
Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge
The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, built in 1889, is the oldest standing bridge over the lower Hudson River. In 2009 it was converted into one of the World’s longest pedestrian and bicycle bridges.
Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge was opened in 1957, and connects Kingston with the village of Rhinecliff, part of Rhinebeck, founded by Dutch settlers.
Rip Van Winkle Bridge
“Rip Van Winkle” is the main character in a short story by the American author Washington Irving, published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America who meets mysterious Dutchmen (who hasn’t …), imbibes in their liquor (was it Jenever?) and falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution (all of this according to Wikipedia)
Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge
The Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge, built in 1924, is the southernmost cargo railway connection across the Hudson River, located about 120 miles north of New York City. There are railway tunnels in New York City, but they serve passenger traffic only. That means that every railway car going from Long Island or Connecticut to New Jersey or even further south needs to take a 280 mile (450 km) detour go get over this bridge. Scary thought …
Castleton Bridge
This is the bridge we take when we travel on Interstate I90 from Boston to Buffalo, with a great view of the Hudson River valley. Every time I drive over this bridge, I wish I could be down there. This time, we are!
Maiden Lane Bridge
Sorry, we couldn’t take a picture. This railroad bridge, built in 1871, was demolished in 1960.
Dunn Memorial Bridge
The road bridge between Albany and Rensselaer, built in 1969.
Hudson River Railroad Bridge
Another bridge (built in 1866) which was demolished in 1901. It was replaced with the Livingstone Avenue Bridge.
Livingstone Avenue Bridge
This railroad bridge was built in 1901 to replace the Hudson River Railroad Bridge. As you can see, it shows its age, but it is still heavily used. The passenger trains from Boston and Springfield to Buffalo pass over it. Another scary thought …
Patroon Island Bridge
The Patroon Island Bridge carries the Interstate highway on the northern side of Albany. Built in 1968.
That’s it. 17 bridges. Did you count? There are more bridges north of Albany, but the river gets significantly narrower, and the bridges smaller.
Credits for this brief overview of the bridges over the Hudson River go to my sister-in-law who whose curiosity about these bridges was my major motivation to take the pictures and summarize them in this post.