The Rip Van Winkle Bridge is a

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

spanning the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

between

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

and

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

. Affording of clearance over the water, the structure carries NY 23 across the river, connecting

US 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...

and NY 385 on the west side with NY 9G on the east side. The bridge is named after the 1819 short story of the same name by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

, which mentions Hudson and Catskill.

Construction

The bridge was built by the newly created

New York State Bridge Authority The New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA) is a public benefit corporation in New York State, United States. The NYSBA was born out of the necessity to build a bridge over the Hudson River to link the city of Hudson and the village of Catski ...

, opening on July 2, 1935, at a cost of $2.4 million ($ with inflation). A fireworks display marked the 50th anniversary of the bridge's construction in 1985. A multi-year repainting project was completed in 2009 which removed all lead-based paint.

Pedestrian walkway

A pedestrian walkway was completed in 2018 on the south side of the bridge, open from dawn to dusk. Bicyclists may use the roadway or walk their bikes across the pedestrian walkway. The walkway is also a link on the Hudson River Skywalk, which links the homes of

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, ...

painters

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...

and

Frederic Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

Tolls

Upon its opening, the toll was $0.80 ($ with inflation) per passenger car and $0.10 ($ with inflation) per passenger up to $1 ($ with inflation). Originally, tolls were collected in both directions. In August 1970, the toll was abolished for westbound drivers, and at the same time, eastbound drivers saw their tolls doubled. The tolls of eleven other New York–New Jersey and Hudson River crossings along a stretch, from the

Outerbridge Crossing The Outerbridge Crossing, also known as the Outerbridge, is a cantilever bridge that spans the Arthur Kill between Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York. It carries New York State Route 440 (NY 440) and New Jersey Rou ...

in the south to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in the north, were also changed to eastbound-only at that time. In 2019, the bridge authority announced that tolls on its Hudson River crossings would increase each year beginning in 2020 and ending in 2023. As of May 1, 2021, the current toll for passenger cars traveling eastbound on the Mid-Hudson Bridge was $1.75 in cash, $1.45 for E-ZPass users. In May 2022, tolls will rise to $1.55 for E-ZPass users and $2 for toll by mail payers. In 2023, the E-ZPass toll will increase to $1.65, and the mailed toll will rise to $2.15 At midnight on November 1, 2021, the bridge was converted to all-electronic tolling.

References

External links and Resources

Photosphere from Rip Van Winkle Bridge WalkwayNew York State Bridge Authority
- Official site
Historical Overview: Rip Van Winkle Bridge
- NYCRoads.com * Bridges completed in 1935 Bridges over the Hudson River New York State Bridge Authority Road bridges in New York (state) Toll bridges in New York (state) Cantilever bridges in the United States Truss bridges in the United States Catskill, New York Hudson, New York Hudson River School sites {{NewYork-bridge-struct-stub

Construction

Pedestrian walkway

Tolls

See also

References

External links and Resources