HUDSON VALLEY Celebrating begins for Bear Mountain Bridge centennial

BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com

Next year will see the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Bear Mountain Bridge. New York state already is starting to celebrate, with a time capsule being dedicated and the announcement that an international bridge engineering conference is bing planned.

It was on Nov. 24, 1924, that opening-day ceremonies took place for the suspension bridge, which had taken the Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company 20 months to construct. Not only was it the first suspension bridge to use a concrete deck, it was the first bridge south of Albany to cross the Hudson River.

An act of the state legislature allowed the bridge to be built by the private enterprise, the Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company, which had connections with the prominent Harriman family. The state was committed to buying the bridge within 35 years.

The New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA) purchased the Bear Mountain Bridge on Sept. 26, 1940 for $2,275,000. One of NYSBA’s first actions was to lower the basic passenger car toll from $0.80 to $0.50 each way. On Jan. 1, 1942, the toll was lowered further to $0.35 and then to $0.25 each way on July 15, 1945. Tolls today are collected only in the eastbound direction and as of May 1 are $1.60 for vehicles with E-ZPass and $2.15 for vehicles that are sent a bill for the toll through the U.S. mail.

Gov.Kathy Hochul, in announcing the kickoff of celebrations for the anniversary, said, “New York has a long history of creating world-class infrastructure that has transformed our state. As we begin to commemorate the centennial of the Bear Mountain Bridge, I hope residents and visitors alike continue to appreciate the importance of this beloved Hudson Valley fixture.”

At the end of World War II, the Bear Mountain Bridge was being used for by 483,000 vehicle crossings per year. As if 2019, which was the bridge’s 95th anniversary year, it was recording more than 7.8 million annual crossings.

In 2018, a bill was passed in the State Legislature that had been introduced by Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and State Sen. Bill Larkin that designated the bridge as the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bear Mountain Bridge to honor U.S. servicemen.

The bridge is situated at the junction of four counties: Orange and Rockland on the west side of the river and Westchester and Putnam on the east side. The bridge is the Hudson River crossing point for the Appalachian Trail, the national hiking route that winds for more than 2,000 miles

“The Bear Mountain Bridge was an engineering marvel when it was first constructed, and the fact that we are celebrating its centennial is a testament to what can be accomplished with resilient, sustainable infrastructure,” according to Marie Therese Dominguez, commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation. “This historic bridge has become an indelible part of the Hudson Valley landscape and by honoring this century-long achievement with a time capsule, we are laying a strong foundation for the next 100 years of engineering innovation.”

Among the items included in the time capsule are letters from Gov. Hochul and Lt. Gov. Delgado, artifacts related to the Harriman family, various mementos from the Bridge Authority and the Hudson Valley region and letters to the future written by 4th grade students at Hillcrest Elementary School in Peekskill.

The time capsule was sealed by NYSBA’s longest-serving employee, John Brooks. He is a resident of Ulster County. Brooks retired from full-time service in 1997, and has stayed on as a part-time employee at NYSBA headquarters in Highland, New York, and has more than 56 years with the NYSBA.

Joan McDonald, who is Westchester County’s director of operations and also serves as chair of the NYSBA Board of Commissioners said, “Ever since the Bridge Authority took ownership of the bridge in 1940, the NYSBA Board of Commissioners has worked to ensure the Bear Mountain Bridge remains a safe, reliable and affordable river crossing for the residents and vis-