A half-hour before Walkway Over the Hudson was set to present its plan to transform the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge into a pedestrian park, the space set aside in the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel on Jan. 9 was already filled to capacity. As the last attendant stationed outside the doors retired his pen for the evening, a total of 485 interested citizens from across the state had made their way to downtown Poughkeepsie for an open house dedicated to converting the once longest railroad bridge in the world into what would be the longest pedestrian bridge in existence.
“How often do you think you get this many people to a public meeting?” said Walkway Over the Hudson Chairman Fred Schaeffer as latecomers clamored to get in, finding themselves forced to stand in the hall. Anticipating about “50 or 100 people,” the unexpected number of attendees brought a smile to the face of the project’s manager, Peter Melewski.
“I’m looking forward to making my dream a reality,” Melewski said.
The dream Melewski shares with Walkway Over the Hudson is to see the 6,767-foot long bridge be made available to the public in such a way as to not only allow visitors to walk and bike 212 feet above the Hudson River, but also to participate in special events. In its proposed vision, glass portals will allow pedestrians to gaze down at the river from high above at the widest span of the bridge and elevators would provide handicapped and bicycle access from near Washington Avenue in the City of Poughkeepsie.
The bridge would also serve as a connector to an extensive network of rail trails on both sides of the river, an idea that drew a round of applause from the people in attendance.
A walkway to money
The project was also name-checked in Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s State of the State address. Spitzer, who will propose a $16 million allocation for the project – a sizeable chunk of the project’s estimated $25 million cost – in his upcoming budget, said a revitalized bridge would be a benefit both to the appreciation of history and the Mid-Hudson economy. “As a new pedestrian bridge over the Hudson, it will allow New Yorkers to connect to the history and natural beauty of our state, and draw them to Poughkeepsie, Kingston, and surrounding communities,” said Spitzer.
A report by Bergmann Associates, available on the Internet at http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/news/meeting/content/2007/docs/RevisedDraft.pdf, gives an estimation of the economic boon. The report, using a formula of a visitor-to-population of 1.5 (based upon a combined Poughkeepsie-Lloyd population of 85,500) projects a possible 128,250 visitors to the bridge each year. “If it is assumed that each visitor spends between $5 and $10 per day ($7.50), the total trail expenditures by trail users are expected to total $961,875 annually,” the report states. “The initially low level of spending is based on an assumption of primarily day trips on the trail, and a relative absence of trail-related businesses, attractions, and activities in the Walkway area. As opportunities for trail visitors to spend money increase, and the number of overnight visitors increases, visitor expenditures would also be expected to increase.”
The report also cites the obvious benefits of a $25 million building project in terms of local construction jobs and sales of supplies and equipment, and additional local and state revenue from increased sales taxes.
“I love how it will connect Ulster and Dutchess County,” said Rob Moysey, 26, a resident director at SUNY New Paltz. “I’m very into the outdoors, so I think this is a great way to go outside and enjoy the beauty of the Hudson Valley.”
Walkway Over the Hudson projects that once completed, the bridge will draw approximately 157,699 local users a year as well as 110,000 outside visitors.
“The economic benefits will be amazing,” said Schaeffer. “We estimate that it will bring in 258 new jobs and $21 million in local spending.”
Much must be done, however, before the bridge plan can be finalized. Though Walkway Over the Hudson hopes to complete construction of the pedestrian bridge in September 2009 in time for the quadricentennial celebration of Henry Hudson’s first exploratory journey up the river, the nonprofit group must still raise $25 million, Walkway officials said. A recent $1.5 million donation from the Millbrook-based Dyson Foundation helped fund inspections last summer, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced his plans to make the walkway a priority during his State of the State address last week. The foundation is hoping that enough state and private funds will come in time to begin construction in the summer of 2008.
“It’s a big project,” said Judy Moran, a Walkway Over the Hudson board member. “The railroad is a mile long and the rails must be taken off before we go forward.”
A longtime resident of the area, Moran hopes that the funding necessary can be found in the coming months so that the project may go forward.
“My father worked on the railroad bridge back in the ’50s,” said Moran. “I used to always accompany him out on it and enjoy the view. I want to bring that joy to the public.”