Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

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Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
Newburgh-Beacon Bridge from Beacon, NY
Official name	Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
Carries	6 lanes of I-84 and NY 52
Crosses	Hudson River
Locale	Newburgh, New York and Beacon, New York
Maintained by	New York State Bridge Authority
Design	Twin span Cantilever bridges
Longest span	304.8 meters (1,000 feet)
Total length	2,379.09 meters (7,789 feet) 2,394.20 meters (7,855 feet)
AADT	65,000
Opening date	November 2, 1963 (westbound) November 1, 1980 (eastbound)
Toll	Cars $1.00 (eastbound)
Maps and aerial photos Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps Topographic map from TopoZone Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth

The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is a cantilever toll bridge that spans the Hudson River in New York State carrying NY 52 and I-84 between Newburgh and Beacon. The first (westbound, north of other span) span was opened to traffic on November 2, 1963 as a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge.

Although original plans called for a four-lane bridge, funding difficulties resulted in the reduction in lanes. This span was designed by Modjeski & Masters and constructed by Frederick Snare, Drave and Bethlehem Steel.

By 1964, the original two-lane structure was already over capacity^[1], and planning for additional capacity began in 1972. After considering doubledecking (which the original bridge was not designed for) the decision was taken by NYSBA to add a second parallel span south of the original.

The original span was made of steel that needs painting, but the newer span is made of "rusting" steel, (believed to be COR-TEN or a similar material although sources are not clear) which surface corrodes to a brown color and does not need painting as corrosion does not go deeper. On November 1, 1980, this second, parallel span, also designed by Modjeski & Masters but constructed by American Bridge Company, was opened to traffic. The original span was closed for renovation, to add a lane and to paint it brown to match the color of the new span, from December 1980 to June 1984. In 1997, the bridge was officially renamed the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. It is still more commonly referred to by its original name.

Today, then, there are actually two spans;

The westbound (northern) bridge, opened in 1963 carrying one lane of traffic in each direction. Today it accommodates three 12-foot travel lanes and with no shoulders. Variable lane-use signs allow the right lane to be designated as a breakdown lane at night and off-peak travel times. When the right lane is being used as a shoulder, a red X appears on the signs above it, while a green arrow illuminates when the lane is used for travel during peak times.
The newer eastbound span was built with three 12-foot travel lanes, a 10-foot right shoulder, a 6-foot left shoulder and pedestrian sidewalk separated from the roadway by a concrete barrier. Because the eastbound span was built with shoulders, there is no need to reduce the travel lanes to two during off-peak times.

The span provides connections to the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) and US 9W in Newburgh and US 9 in Fishkill. The bridges includes a 2,204 foot (672 m) cantilever span, with a main span of 1,000 feet (305 m) and side spans of 602 feet (183 m). The total length of all spans and approaches is 7855 feet (2394 m) for the north span and 7789 feet (2374 m) for the south span.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge from Newburgh, NY

The bridges, owned by the New York State Bridge Authority, carry six lanes of traffic and approximately 65,000 vehicles per day. The spans are the only part of I-84 within New York State that is not maintained by the New York State Thruway Authority. The eastbound (newer) bridge is the only portion of I-84 where there are three lanes not intended as exit/merge lanes ("acceleration/deceleration lanes").

Heading eastbound across the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. This span opened in 1980. The westbound bridge, built in 1963, can be seen on the left side of this photo.

Eastbound passenger vehicles are charged a toll of $1 to cross the span. The toll plaza is located on the eastern (Beacon) shore.

[edit] Awards, Records, and Trivia

The original bridge won the 1965 American Institute of Steel Construction "most beautiful bridge" award for long span bridges. Modeski & Masters used a curved cantilever rather than the more typical peaked cantilever as seen on (for example) the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The newer bridge was claimed to be the longest bridge constructed of COR-TEN material when opened.
The bridge spans are as of late 2005 the 19th longest cantilever spans in the world.
The bridge is named after Hamilton Fish, former Governor of New York, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State.