Dunn Memorial Bridge

The Dunn Memorial Bridge, officially known as the Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge, carries US 9 and US 20 across the Hudson River between Albany, New York and Rensselaer, New York. Completed in 1967 to replace an earlier span bearing the same name, the highway bridge has a steel girder design. It is named for Parker F. Dunn, an Albany native who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in World War I and is the southernmost toll-free road crossing of the Hudson.

Dunn Memorial Bridge

Official name                             Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge

Carries                                       8 lanes of US 9/US 20

Crosses                                      Hudson River

Locale                                       Albany and Rensselaer, NY

Design                                       Steel girder bridge

Opening date                            1969

The Dunn Memorial Bridge is widely regarded as the "bridge to nowhere"[citation needed] because there is a noticeable stub on the eastern end and traffic is "forced off" the bridge onto offramps for 9 and 20. The road was originally supposed to continue on as part of the cancelled South Mall Expressway to Interstate 90 at present day Exit 8. The stubs at the bridges eastern end, built for the cancelled South Mall Expressway. Rensselaers Riverfront Park is located under the eastern end of the bridge. Peregrine falcons have been observed nesting under the roadway since 1998, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation set up a webcam to monitor them. On July 27, 2005, the bridge was temporarily closed when a ramp leading to the Empire State Plaza split vertically, causing the roadbed to drop more than a foot. A section of the ramp, which at 89 feet (27 m) tall is the uppermost one connecting to the bridge, had slipped and come to rest on a concrete supporting pier. The Department of Transportation was alerted to the situation by a call from a commuter who had driven over the gap. Two steel towers were installed to support the ramp and it was later repaired.