The iconic suspension bridge, also known as the “Rondout Creek Bridge,” spans Rondout Creek to connect Kingston with the Esopus hamlet of Port Ewen. Built in 1921, the bridge closed in the fall of 2020 to make way for a multi-million-dollar restoration project aimed at shoring up its structure and bringing it back to its former glory.
State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez says the bridge is not just a literal connection to Port Ewen, but a link to Hudson Valley history.
“There’s some incredible people that have actually worked on it, including Catherine Nelson, who was a Denmark-born widow, mother of two young children, who literally back in the day grabbed headlines for her work on the original suspension bridge," says Dominguez. "News articles of the day hailed her as the ‘first woman welder of the world,’ and she worked on this bridge.”
The bridge's last major repair took place in the 1970s, but Dominguez says this rehab went even further. The project, which cost an estimated $60 million according to Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, used more than 700 tons of American steel to reinforce the bridge and boost its load capacity to 20 tons. Upgrades include wider sidewalks for bicyclists and pedestrians, new paint and railings, and a climate control system designed to prevent corrosion of the bridge’s main cables.
Former Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, a Democrat who secured $37 million in state grants for the bridge before losing his seat in 2022, got to cut the ribbon on Tuesday.
“What was just a few years ago at risk of falling into the creek — and for those of you who hang around on the West Strand, you know it occasionally actually did fall into the creek — now will last a lifetime," says Cahill.
In a statement, Governor Hochul praised the rehabilitation of the bridge, adding “Modernizing our infrastructure to meet the demands of the 21st century does not mean we have to abandon the iconic structures that are weaved into New York’s rich history.”
Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, says he has a personal history with the bridge. He proposed to his wife, filmmaker Lacey Schwartz, at a nearby restaurant, and remembers frequently using the bridge to bring his children to visit their grandmother, who lives in Port Ewen.
“I also understand what this symbolizes. We can lost a lot in the political cycle, and lose sight of what it means to get things done and to deliver for people and then make our lives more meaningful, more enjoyable. And it takes collective action," says Delgado. "When we do that, we can stand here on days like this, and stand proudly.”
By way of disclosure, Schwartz is on WAMC’s Community Advisory Board.
After the ribbon cutting, local officials demonstrated the safety of the new structure with a ceremonial “first ride" using DOT trucks.
In 2021, construction workers discovered a century-old time capsule tucked inside the bridge’s cornerstone. Unfortunately, the contents of the copper box did not survive the tests of time. The city placed a new, stronger time capsule in the cornerstone containing photographs taken by local children, rivets from the original bridge, business cards from those who worked on it, and a thumb drive with video “messages to the future” from members of the community.
