(rshsdepot) Maybrook Line/Poughkeepsie Bridge, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

State hopes to turn old rails into trails
By Michael Valkys
Poughkeepsie Journal

State officials Thursday recommended construction of a $6 million paved
trail for pedestrians and cyclists from Hopewell Junction to Poughkeepsie
and over the Mid-Hudson Bridge into Ulster County along the old Maybrook
rail line.
The Department of Transportation unveiled the results of a nearly two-year
study of potential uses for the old freight line, which has not been used
since the 1970s. The study also came up with estimates on what it would cost
to re-open the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge to cyclists and pedestrians.
That price tag came to $27.6 million.

''We did it to study all the different options'' for the corridor, said
state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Colleen McKenna of the
$200,000 report. ''We think this is the best option.''

The study also recommended officials seriously consider building a limited
access highway in the northeast quadrant around the City of Poughkeepsie.
According to the report, the new highway could connect Route 44 with Creek
Road, Route 9G and Route 9.

There are no plans at this time to construct such a highway, but the study
recommends that officials look into the matter further.

Town of Poughkeepsie resident Reggie White, active in environmental issues,
said the proposed trail seems like a good use.

''I think it might be a good idea as long as it doesn't disturb or disrupt
the environment,'' White said.

Pleasant Valley resident Fred Schaeffer, a cyclist who has lobbied for the
trail for nearly a decade, said it will be very popular.

''It's a great idea,'' Schaeffer said. ''This will be one of the most used
rail trails in the country.''

What the report does not recommend for the old Maybrook line also is
noteworthy. There has been talk for years of re-opening the line to freight
traffic or making it a passenger line, but the DOT's study said neither of
those options would be worthwhile.

Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said the railroad still is examining
long-range plans for using part of the Maybrook line for service at some
point in the future, but not in the Dutchess County stretch from Hopewell
Junction to Poughkeepsie.

Brucker said the poor condition of the bridge and the tracks in the area
would make renovation costs ''astronomical ... It wouldn't be logical for us
to do now or in the near future.''

The Maybrook corridor served as a gateway from the west to New England after
the completion of the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge in 1888 and flourished
for decades. Freight service dwindled over the years into the early 1970s. A
1974 fire on the bridge closed the span and the rest of the line has been
abandoned since.

Dutchess County officials said construction of the 23-mile trail, which
would be open to pedestrians and cyclists, could begin this spring.

Step called important

''The completion of the Maybrook Corridor Study is a significant
milestone,'' said Roger Akeley, the county's commissioner of planning and
development. ''It provides us with good guidance regarding the re-use of
this important corridor.''

State DOT officials pledged to work to bring the plan's recommendations to
fruition.

''The department looks forward to working with Dutchess County and other
municipalities in the implementation of the study's findings,'' said Robert
Dennison, the DOT's regional director for Region 8, which encompasses the
study area.

Town of Poughkeepsie Supervisor Joseph Davis said he favors the trail plan.

''The more recreation that we can get, the better off we are,'' Davis said.
''It's going to be something that is going to be used.''

The trail would run from Hopewell Junction to Poughkeepsie and cross the
Mid-Hudson Bridge into Lloyd. From there, the trail would link with the
Hudson Valley Rail Trail and head along Route 299, where it would travel
through New Paltz and link with the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

The study also recommends the trail be continued south from Hopewell
Junction to Putnam County's Maybrook Trailway and from Hopewell Junction to
Beacon.

The report on the Maybrook corridor's future was commissioned by the DOT
after a request from the Poughkeepsie-Dutchess County Transportation
Council. The study was performed by URS Greiner Woodard Clyde of New York
City.

McKenna said the report examines needs in the area for many years to come.

''It's a long-term plan,'' she said.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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