Poughkeepsie, NY – Bridge Over the Hudson Opens as The World’s Longest Pedestrian Bridge

Poughkeepsie, NY – An old rail bridge spanning high above the Hudson River reopens this weekend as a state park offering visitors a birds-eye view of the valley.

The Walkway Over the Hudson stretches 1.25-miles from Poughkeepsie to Highland along a scenic stretch of river about 70 miles north of New York City. Workers have spent the past year laying a smooth concrete walkway atop the rusty skeleton that once carried puffing locomotives. The walkway will finally open to pedestrians and bicyclists with a ceremony Saturday afternoon.

The bridge deck is flat, but connects two high points inland from the river. Entering from the Poughkeepsie side, visitors can get a sense of liftoff as they walk above treetops, look down at church steeples and finally gaze at the river 212 feet below.

Fred Schaeffer, a local lawyer who helped lead the restoration, pointed out the sights from mid-span recently as workers put finishing touches on the walkway.

“That’s the Hudson Highlands. And West Point is on the other side of the mountains. You can see for 12 miles,” Schaeffer said on a wind-whipped morning. “In this direction, we can see the Catskill Mountains.”

The 19th century span had cast a literal and figurative shadow over Poughkeepsie for decades, a reminder of the region’s long-gone industrial heyday. When railroad ties on the Poughkeepsie side of the bridge caught fire in 1974, the railroad didn’t even bother to make repairs.

In the years that followed, people came up with all sorts of ideas for the unused bridge. Some wanted to turn it into a mall, others advocated a bungee-jumping business. Locals who wanted to turn it into a walkway were just starting their campaign in the winter of 1993 when Schaeffer first walked out on the old bridge. It was 6 degrees and the river was iced over. Schaeffer was struck.

“I just fell in love with the view,” he said.

Schaeffer eventually took over the walkway campaign and began aggressively seeking public and private funds. The private, not-for-profit group has raised $28.3 million of the $38.8 million needed. Despite the recession, much of the money was raised during the last year as they pushed to open the bridge in time for the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river.

“I think there was skepticism until last week,” said Walkway Over the Hudson executive director Amy Husten. “People called and said, ‘Is this really going to happen?'”

The bridge opened as a state park at 3 p.m. on Saturday with fireworks and a lantern ceremony the night before and a busy Saturday that included a “Walking on Air Parade,” speeches and a biplane flyover.

“We have nothing like this in the system,” said state parks commissioner Carol Ash.

The closest thing to the Hudson Walkway in the region would be The High Line on Manhattan’s West Side. The old elevated rail line, which opened as a public park this summer, is landscaped and runs alongside city buildings.

Walkway officials expect more than 250,000 visitors a year, most from the region. But they also expect a heavy flow of day trippers up from New York City. Since the bridge is close to Poughkeepsie’s commuter rail station, there are plans to accommodate metro-area visitors with a $2.4 million elevator near the station.

Ash said the bridge eventually will link up to about 27 miles of fitness trials on both sides of the river.

The park will be open from dawn to dusk, though Schaeffer said LED lights will be strung along the underside of the railings for special events under the stars.

“It’s very romantic out here at night,” he said.