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Bear Mountain Bridge
The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries US 6 and US 202 across the Hudson River between Bear Mountain State Park in Orange County and Cortlandt in Westchester County. At completion in 1924 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until this record was surpassed 19 months later by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Like the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, the approach spans of the Bear Mountain Bridge are unsuspended; only its main span (between the towers) is suspended by cables.
The span enables connections between the Palisades Interstate Parkway and US 9W on the west bank near Bear Mountain and NY 9D on the east bank as well as US 9 and the Bear Mountain Parkway farther east. It also carries the Appalachian Trail and New York State Bicycle Route 9 across the Hudson.
The bridge has two undivided vehicle lanes flanked by sidewalks. Cyclists may ride with motor vehicle traffic or walk their bikes on the sidewalks.
Plans for a bridge at the site began with the charter of the Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge Company in 1868 after a bill was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Fenton. Early investors in the company included Erastus Corning, Isaac Bell, and Addison P. Jones.
The following year, The New York Times reported that a contract had been signed and construction would "speedily commence" on the "Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge" between Fort Clinton and Anthony's Nose. The intent was to carry a railroad toward Derby, Connecticut, to supply coal and iron for industry in the lower Naugatuck Valley. The surface of the bridge was to be 150 feet (46 m) above high tide.[citation needed] In 1871, a board of engineers had been selected to work on the bridge, including Horatio Allen, George B. McClellan, Edward W. Serrell, and Quincy Adams Gillmore. It was reported that capital of $2.5 million was needed and that much of it had been raised from the railroads who would benefit from the bridge. At this time, construction was expected to begin in June 1871 and to be complete by 1875.
In 1887, reports said the bridge would be finished in two years. By 1889, "work on the anchor pits was progressing rapidly." On March 5, 1896, the Hudson Highland Bridge and Railway Company filed for incorporation with capital of $84,900. The company was a reorganization of the former Hudson Suspension Bridge and New England Railway Company.
None of these attempts to build the bridge were successful, with only foundation preparations having progress made. Much of this period coincided with the so-called Long Depression, including stock market crashes called the Panic of 1873 and Panic of 1893. A charter for construction of the bridge expired in 1916.
In March 1922 through a bill introduced by C. Ernest Smith, the state legislature authorized creation of the private Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company to complete the project. The bridge was now for automobiles instead of rail, and included a 3-mile (4.8 km) approach road from the Albany Post Road north of Peekskill. The 11-member board of directors included financiers E. Roland Harriman and George W. Perkins. Under the 1922 charter, ownership of the bridge was to revert by 1962 to New York State, which also had the right to acquire the bridge at any time. A $4.5 million bond issue was completed in April of that year through the Harriman banking and brokerage firm.
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Bear Mountain Bridge
The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries US 6 and US 202 across the Hudson River between Bear Mountain State Park in Orange County and Cortlandt in Westchester County. At completion in 1924 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until this record was surpassed 19 months later by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Like the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, the approach spans of the Bear Mountain Bridge are unsuspended; only its main span (between the towers) is suspended by cables.
The span enables connections between the Palisades Interstate Parkway and US 9W on the west bank near Bear Mountain and NY 9D on the east bank as well as US 9 and the Bear Mountain Parkway farther east. It also carries the Appalachian Trail and New York State Bicycle Route 9 across the Hudson.
The bridge has two undivided vehicle lanes flanked by sidewalks. Cyclists may ride with motor vehicle traffic or walk their bikes on the sidewalks.
Plans for a bridge at the site began with the charter of the Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge Company in 1868 after a bill was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Fenton. Early investors in the company included Erastus Corning, Isaac Bell, and Addison P. Jones.
The following year, The New York Times reported that a contract had been signed and construction would "speedily commence" on the "Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge" between Fort Clinton and Anthony's Nose. The intent was to carry a railroad toward Derby, Connecticut, to supply coal and iron for industry in the lower Naugatuck Valley. The surface of the bridge was to be 150 feet (46 m) above high tide.[citation needed] In 1871, a board of engineers had been selected to work on the bridge, including Horatio Allen, George B. McClellan, Edward W. Serrell, and Quincy Adams Gillmore. It was reported that capital of $2.5 million was needed and that much of it had been raised from the railroads who would benefit from the bridge. At this time, construction was expected to begin in June 1871 and to be complete by 1875.
In 1887, reports said the bridge would be finished in two years. By 1889, "work on the anchor pits was progressing rapidly." On March 5, 1896, the Hudson Highland Bridge and Railway Company filed for incorporation with capital of $84,900. The company was a reorganization of the former Hudson Suspension Bridge and New England Railway Company.
None of these attempts to build the bridge were successful, with only foundation preparations having progress made. Much of this period coincided with the so-called Long Depression, including stock market crashes called the Panic of 1873 and Panic of 1893. A charter for construction of the bridge expired in 1916.
In March 1922 through a bill introduced by C. Ernest Smith, the state legislature authorized creation of the private Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company to complete the project. The bridge was now for automobiles instead of rail, and included a 3-mile (4.8 km) approach road from the Albany Post Road north of Peekskill. The 11-member board of directors included financiers E. Roland Harriman and George W. Perkins. Under the 1922 charter, ownership of the bridge was to revert by 1962 to New York State, which also had the right to acquire the bridge at any time. A $4.5 million bond issue was completed in April of that year through the Harriman banking and brokerage firm.