This item from the Poughkeepsie Journal looks encouraging. We may get to walk on the bridge one day soon.
Bernie Rudberg
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PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Lloyd to end suit against bridge-walk group
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Lloyd to end suit against bridge-walk group
Ulster-side tours may be resumed
By Bond Brungard
For the Poughkeepsie Journal
HIGHLAND -- After a long dispute, the Town of Lloyd has agreed to withdraw a lawsuit against Walkway Over the Hudson regarding building code violations.
And the nonprofit group that owns the 6,000-foot Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge has agreed to pay a $250 fine as part the settlement with the town.
The town sued the group in the late 1990s after members defied a court order that barred them from using the Lloyd side of the bridge. On that side, the group, under different leadership at the time, constructed buildings without obtaining permission from Lloyd.
''We dropped the lawsuit because they're abiding by the building code,'' Lloyd Supervisor Bob Shepard said. The agreement also stipulates the group must get a building permit for structures in place while it removes part of a shed and a makeshift restroom.
''We do have cooperation with the town,'' said Fred Schaeffer, chairman of Walkway Over the Hudson's board of directors. The bridge, which towers 212 feet above the Hudson River, has been unusable since a fire closed it in 1974. Renovation supporters say opening it will create a fine recreational option for residents and visitors.
Varied estimates
Schaeffer has said it could cost from as little as $2 million to deck the bridge to as much as $10 million. And officials agree it could cost even more -- more than $20 million -- to demolish the historic structure.
State officials, including representatives of the Hudson River Valley Greenway, the state Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, met with Schaeffer last summer to discuss uses for the span.
At the time, Greenway Chairman Carmella Mantello said the bridge could be a key link in connecting Greenway trails on both sides of the river. With temporary decking in place on the Lloyd side of the bridge, tours had been given until the group ran afoul of the town. Now the settlement paves the way for more tours. ''It lets them take people on the bridge," Shepard said. The current agreement allows access to the bridge for professionals, such as engineers, architects or journalists -- not the general public.
Now the nonprofit group can conduct a $70,000 feasibility study, funded by grants from the state, the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency and the Dyson Foundation. The study will look at the materials needed to deck the bridge, whether concrete or wood, whether the bridge needs any structural improvements, and will look at other amenities such
as parking and lighting, Schaeffer said.
Bond Brungard can be reached at
[email protected]
Resources
For information on Walkway Over the Hudson, go to
www.walkway.org or call 845-454-9649.