(rshsdepot) Poughkeepsie RR Bridge

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Poughkeepsie Journal.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
City set to boost rail bridge plan 

By Michael Valkys
Poughkeepsie  Journal


Efforts to reopen the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge in 2009  for the 400th 
anniversary celebration of Henry Hudson's voyage along the  river are expected to 
move forward Wednesday. 
The City of Poughkeepsie Common Council may approve an  agreement that will 
help fund ongoing studies needed to determine if the  19th-century bridge, 
closed since a 1974 fire, is structurally  sound. 
The nonprofit group Walkway Over the Hudson is leading the  movement to 
reopen the bridge as a public park for pedestrians and  cyclists. 
Walkway board Chairman Fred Schaeffer said the council's  support is needed 
for the bridge to be ready for the 2009 celebration the  state is planning. The 
city essentially is acting as a pass-through agency  for state and federal 
funds that will help pay to renovate the  span. 
"Now the city will start advancing the funds to do the  design work,'' 
Schaeffer said. 
The city will be reimbursed for money it allocates toward  the bridge 
project, Corporation Counsel Stephen Wing said. 
Recent donations to Walkway have allowed the group to hire  an executive 
director and an engineering firm to perform inspections,  which are being overseen 
by Peter Melewski of Bergmann Associates. 
Schaeffer said inspections thus far have revealed no major  problems. 
"The inspections are going very well,'' Schaeffer said. "It  looks like there 
will be no major structural work that needs to be  done.'' 
Walkway is also trying to convince state officials to  designate the bridge 
as what is known as a signature project for the 2009  celebration. 
That could lead to more funding and public exposure for the  project. 
"Talks are going well,'' Schaeffer said. "They are still  very much 
interested.'' 
Talks with state next 
He said Walkway leaders could meet with state officials this  month. 
Along with state and federal funding, Walkway also recently  received a $1.5 
million grant from the Millbrook-based Dyson  Foundation. 
Walkway 15 years ago began planning to transform the bridge  into a 
functional pathway to provide Ulster and Dutchess county residents  pedestrian and 
bicycle access and scenic views. 
The bridge is eventually expected to become part of the  state's Greenway 
trail system. 



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