Carmine Liberta Bridge

The Carmine Liberta Bridge is a two-lane steel through truss bridge over the Wallkill River. It carries New York State Route 299 over the river between the Town of New Paltz on the west side and the Village of New Paltz on the east. The current bridge, the fourth at that location, was built in 2016.

Carmine Liberta Bridge
Bridge seen from southwest, 2018
Coordinates41°44′48″N 74°5′27″W
Carries NY 299
CrossesWallkill River
LocaleNew Paltz, NY, USA
Maintained byUlster County Highway Department
ID number000000003045230[1]
Preceded byTuthilltown Bridge
Followed bySpringtown Truss Bridge
Characteristics
DesignTruss bridge
MaterialWeathering steel
Total length175 feet (53 m)[1]
Width36 feet (11 m)[1]
No. of spans1
Clearance above15 feet (4.6 m)
History
Construction start2016
Construction end2016
Statistics
Daily traffic11649
Location

It is the only way into the village from that direction. As such, it often carries heavy traffic on weekends between New Paltz and the Shawangunk Ridge. Due to the flood plains on the western side it has been closed in periods of high water on the river.

History

Two other bridges had been built at the location of the Carmine Liberta Bridge: a wooden covered bridge, erected in 1845,[2] and a 153-foot (47 m) iron bridge that had been built in 1891 at a cost of $677.[3] The current bridge was built in 1940 and reconstructed half a century later, in 1990. In 2008 the Ulster County Legislature formally named it for Carmine Liberta, a lifelong resident and Korean War veteran who had been active in local veterans' affairs and served as vice chair of the town Republican committee for 25 years.[4] Prior to its naming, the bridge was formally known as County Bridge No.135.[5]

In 2016, with the bridge nearing the end of its useful life, the county demolished the 1940 bridge and replaced it with a new one, a truss of weathering steel with lower arches, no overhead members and a wider deck. On the north side a 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) lighted walkway for pedestrian and bicycle traffic was added, to better connect with bike routes and facilitate the River-to-Ridge Trail, a planned hiking route between the Hudson River and the Shawangunk Ridge. To take advantage of an improved view of the ridge created by the lower bridge and cleared trees necessary for building a temporary replacement bridge during construction, an observation deck was built on the north side of Route 299 just east of the bridge.[6]

Following five months of construction at a cost of $2.4 million, the new bridge was formally opened and rededicated at the end of 2016. Ulster County Executive Mike Hein cut the ribbon, along with Carmine Liberta's widow Angie. He praised the project as "creating a waterfront in New Paltz for the first time since the 1600s."[7]

See also

References
  1. "National Bridge Inventory Record for Structure #000000003045230". nationalbridges.com. 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  2. Johnson & Ryan 2001, p. 28
  3. Johnson & Ryan 2001, p. 62
  4. Horrigan, Jeremiah (July 19, 2008). "New Paltz to hold bridge dedication". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY: Dow Jones Local Media Group. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  5. "Resolution No. 146 Authorizing The Chairman Of The Ulster County Legislature To Dedicate The County Bridge Over The Wallkill (Located Near The Intersection Of Springtown Road, County Road 18A, And State Route 299) In The Town Of New Paltz, New York In Memory Of Mr. Carmine Liberta" (PDF). Ulster County. May 14, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  6. "The New Carmine Liberta Bridge" (PDF). Ulster County. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  7. "County opens rebuilt Carmine Liberta Bridge, Gateway to the Gunks". Mid-Hudson News. October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.

Bibliography
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