Like many of us faced with rising prices of just about everything we can think of, Walkway Over The Hudson, faced with the estimate of restoring the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge and transforming it into a pedestrian walkway ballooning by millions, has had to cut back.
Nevertheless, the project’s friends in high places are still working to help. On July 10, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development FY09 Appropriations Bill, including $1 million for the project.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer helped secure the committee’s funding. It’s far from a sure thing – the earmark has to survive the Senate and House and be signed into law by the president – but those prospects did not dampen Schumer’s press-release enthusiasm. “The Walkway Bridge is poised to become one of the greatest tourist attractions in New York. We are taking a landmark piece of the Hudson Valley’s industrial past and turning it into something that will draw visitors from every corner of the state and beyond – providing terrific opportunities for our local businesses and delivering a shot-in-the-arm to the Hudson Valley economy,” stated Schumer.
The money will go toward construction costs – welcome news for Walkway, which recently saw its $27 million projected budget shoot up to over $40 million. The culprit? Rising materials prices since planners’ financial projections were completed last summer.
In particular, the cost of concrete, driven by the exponentially increasing price of fuel, produced the prohibitive budget increase. “The cost of installing the deck was a lot higher than the planning firm had anticipated; everything else was pretty much in line with normal increases,” said Walkway President Fred Schaeffer.
The $40 million figure sent designers back to the drawing board for cost mitigating measures. What they produced was a scaled-down Walkway: Lamp posts were removed from the design ($600,000). Underside concrete installation to mitigate visible holes on deck was scrapped; the concrete will now be affixed from the top. And, most noticeably, main deck width is down from 35 feet to a trim 24 feet.
The concession hasn’t dampened Walkway’s enthusiasm, said Schaeffer. “I think it’s still going to be great. In my initial talks about this bridge, I was just hoping to get a 10-foot-wide path across the river. Twenty-four feet is still going to be enough room for people to bike and walk and benches. People are still going to be able to enjoy it like a promenade,” he said.
The combined sacrifices brought the budget down to a more manageable $35.5 million.
To protect against future budget spikes, contracts have been signed with bid-winning construction firms. The old deck panels are already being removed by Environmental Remediation Services, Inc. of Schenectady. The process should be completed by the end of August.
The new panels are being constructed by Fort Miller Co., Inc., of Saratoga Springs. The deck installation, which is the main construction cost ($11.2 million), will be completed by Harrison and Burrows Bridge Constructors, Inc. of Glenmont.
While dreams of a wider deck have disappeared under the current budget, that may preclude future expansion. “I think and I’ve always thought: Once people get up there, they’ll want to expand it and improve it. So I think one day you’ll see the full width of the bridge,” said Schaeffer.
To date, Walkway has raised approximately $22 million from private and public sources, said Executive Director Amy Husten. “Walkway is in an intensive fundraising mode at the moment, and any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated,” she said. “Anything’s possible. Who knows? Between now and opening day, if we get a very big sugar daddy that loves the project, sure. If not, it will have to be done at a later date.”
To donate, or for more information about Walkway Over the Hudson, visit www.walkway.org or call the office at 454-9649.