Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge

The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge is a Continuous under-deck truss bridge that carries NY 199 across the Hudson River in New York State north of the City of Kingston and the hamlet of Rhinecliff. It was opened to traffic on February 2, 1957 as a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge, although it was not actually complete. Formal opening was May 11, 1957. The original cost was $17.5 million.

Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge

Official name                       George Clinton Memorial Bridge

Carries                                 Two lanes of NY 199

Crosses                                Hudson River

Locale                                  Kingston, New York, Rhinecliff, New York

Design                                 Continuous Under-deck Truss Bridge

Longest span                       2 x 800 ft (244 m)

Total length                        7,793 ft (2375 m)

Width                                  2 lanes with shoulders

Clearance below                 250 ft (76 m) above river

Opening date                      February 2, 1957

The bridge, owned by the New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA), carries two lanes of traffic and approximately 17,000 vehicles per day. It was designed by David B. Steinman and the builders were Harris Structural Steel and Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation, and is the second northernmost, and second newest, of the 5 bridges that NYSBA owns and operates. The bridge has two main spans, since there is an east and west channel in the Hudson River at this point. Planning for a bridge in this general area to replace the ferry service, which was viewed as sporadic and unreliable, (there were no Hudson bridges for 1/2 hour or more drive time in either direction) began in the early 1940s. The site for the bridge, as originally proposed was between Kingston Point and downtown Rhinebeck, and the design was initially a Suspension bridge almost identical in appearance to the Mid-Hudson Bridge. When the site was relocated about 3 miles (4.8 km) northward, there was no stable bedrock for anchorages, so the design was changed to a continuous under-deck truss. Construction commenced in 1954. When the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was proposed, provisions were inserted in the enabling legislation that construction on that bridge could not commence until the Kingston-Rhinecliff was completed.