The George Clinton Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge is a continuous under-deck truss

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

that carries NY 199 across 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 ...

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

north of the City of Kingston and the hamlet of Rhinecliff. It was opened to traffic on February 2, 1957 as a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge, although it was not actually complete. The formal opening was May 11, 1957. The original cost was $17.5 million.New York State Bridge Authority. Highland, NY
"The 'George Clinton' Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge"
Accessed 2017-11-08. The bridge, owned by the

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 ...

(NYSBA), carries two lanes of traffic and approximately 17,000 vehicles per day. It was designed by David B. Steinman and the builders were Harris Structural Steel and Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation, and is the second northernmost, and second newest, of the five bridges that NYSBA owns and operates. The bridge has two main spans, since there is an east and west

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

in the Hudson River at this point.

Development

Planning for a bridge in this general area to replace the ferry service, which was viewed as sporadic and unreliable (there were no Hudson bridges for a half-hour or more drive time in either direction), began in the early 1940s. The site for the bridge, as originally proposed, was between Kingston Point and downtown Rhinebeck, and the design was initially a suspension bridge almost identical in appearance to the

Mid-Hudson Bridge The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge is a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. History Proposals for the Mid-Hudson span were made ...

. When the site was relocated about northward, there was no stable bedrock for anchorages, so the design was changed to a continuous under-deck truss. Construction commenced in 1954. When the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was proposed, provisions were inserted in the enabling legislation that construction on that bridge could not commence until the Kingston–Rhinecliff was completed. Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge in fog

Like all NYSBA bridges, the Kingston–Rhinecliff is a

, with the toll collected only for eastbound vehicles. 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 R ...

in the south to the

Rip Van Winkle Bridge The Rip Van Winkle Bridge is a cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Hudson, New York and Catskill, New York. Affording of clearance over the water, the structure carries NY 23 across the river, connecting US 9W and NY 385 on t ...

in the north, were also changed to eastbound-only at that time. In 2000 the state ceremonially renamed the bridge after George Clinton, New York's first

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, fourth

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

and a resident of the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

.NYSBA stats
Designer D.B. Steinman Builder Harris Structural Steel Co; Merritt-Scott & Chapman Corp. Overall length 7,793 feet Main span length 800 foot spans over both east and west channel Clearance above river 152 feet (46 m) Opened February 2, 1957 Acquired by NYSBA February 2, 1957 Bridge Type Continuous Under-Deck Truss Original Cost $17,500,000 1998 Replacement Value $159,380,000 --> In late 2019, a pedestrian path was added to the bridge. It is 4 feet wide, separated from traffic by a 3-foot-high barrier. The path is part of the

Empire State Trail The Empire State Trail is a multi-use trail in New York State that was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in January 2017 and completed in December 2020. The trail runs from Manhattan north to the Canadian border in Rouses Point near the northern t ...

project. The path is on the south side of the bridge, next to eastbound traffic. It is for pedestrians only; bicyclists on the span will continue to be required to use the shoulders of the road. At midnight on December 1, 2021, the bridge was converted to all-electronic tolling in the eastbound direction.

Tolls

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 Kingston-Rhinecliff 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 cash payers. In 2023, the E-ZPass toll will increase to $1.65, and the cash toll will rise to $2.15. No toll is collected for westbound traffic.

References

External links

NYCroads: Historic overview
- NYSBA *

rehabilitation project information {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge Bridges over the Hudson River Bridges completed in 1957 Bridges in Ulster County, New York New York State Bridge Authority Buildings and structures in Rhinebeck, New York Continuous truss bridges in the United States Road bridges in New York (state) Toll bridges in New York (state) Steel bridges in the United States

Development

Tolls

See also

References

External links