Ward's Bridge carries

NY 17K New York State Route 17K (NY 17K) is an east–west state highway located within Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 17 east of Bloomingburg to a junction with U.S. Route 9W ...

across the

Wallkill River The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Octo ...

at the western end of the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Montgomery in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. It is named, as its predecessors were, for James Ward, an early settler in the area who established his

grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on ho ...

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

on what is now the village side and built the first bridge in the mid-18th century.State historical marker on NY 17K near east end of bridge. Originally, Montgomery was even called Ward's Bridge, and today a nearby restaurant calls itself the Ward's Bridge Inn.Ward's Bridge Inn
retrieved July 9, 2007. The mill has long since been demolished, but the earliest buildings in the village that were built around it still stand and are now the Bridge Street Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Another Registered Historic Place, the Daniel Waring House, is located at the corner of 17K and River Road on the western side. The current bridge, a steel

through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

, is long, with a roadway and small sidewalk on the eastern (downriver) side. It was built in 1940, and renovated in 1982.

Traffic patterns

Traffic on the bridge is very heavy at

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

, since the bridge is the main connection for travel between two regions of the county. The combination of nearby intersections and the layout of Route 17K through the area. The western approach funnels vehicles from the northwest, via county highways like Albany Post Road and River Road (the direct route between Montgomery and

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...

). Both terminate at 17K within a quarter-mile (400 m) of the bridge. Within the same distance to the east, in the village, there is the

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...

at the north end of

NY 211 New York State Route 211 (NY 211) is a state highway located entirely within Orange County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus is at the intersection with US 209 located in Cuddebackville, and the eastern terminus ...

, which connects Montgomery to Middletown and Goshen, via NY 416. Route 17K also bends sharply as it intersects both highways to the west, then takes a 90-degree turn onto Ward Street as it enters the village and encounters the light, for eastbound traffic the first since Bullville, to the west. Both turns slow traffic approaching in either direction, and it in turn backs up drivers on Albany Post and River roads trying to make left turns on 17K.This can be verified by traveling to the area and attempting to make either left turn during rush hour. These issues were aggravated between 2003 and 2005, when the construction of the

Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge The Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge, sometimes referred as the Walden High Bridge,Newman, Marc; ''Images of America: Walden and Maybrook'', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, SC, 2001, , 16. Retrieved online via Google Book Search aJune 24, 20 ...

downstream led the state Department of Transportation to detour

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

traffic to 17K, since the Walden Low Bridge could not handle the prolonged heavy loads.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

, bridge = Ward's Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Bodine's Bridge Bodine's Bridge carries New York State Route 211 across the Wallkill River, a mile (1.6 km) south (west by the highway's signed direction) of the village of Montgomery, New York, United States, near Orange County Airport. At 340 feet (103 m ...

, upstream signs = , downstream =

, downstream signs = Bridges in Orange County, New York Truss bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1940 Bridges over the Wallkill River Road bridges in New York (state) Steel bridges in the United States