It's a State (NY) Historic Site and on the National Register of Historic Places. My visit was on a windy and seasonally cool day. I needed to hold my hat on most of the walk. The bridge started out as a 2 track railroad bridge in 1889. It was known as the Poughkeepsie-Highland Bridge. At the time it was the only bridge over the Hudson between NYC and Albany. It provided a vital link as it was interconnected to a nationwide network of railroads during a time when trains moved virtually all freight. During WWII it accommodated a train an hour carrying wartime supplies. After the war, train traffic declined. In 1974 a fire damaged the Poughkeepsie side and by 1980 traffic had ceased. The state had the foresight to turn it into a wonderful walking bridge.
The Hudson River was created during the last ice age about 16,000 years back when glaciers carved the waterway. It was carved so deep that the riverbed is lower than the Atlantic Ocean for 150 miles from NYC to Albany. So, it is tidal for 150 miles! That is impressive.
The bridge is very high, 212 feet above the river and 1.28 miles long making it the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. Due to the stinging temperature and wind we only walked to the midpoint of the bridge. There we watched a container ship pass underneath.
Sojourner Truth
If you'd like to read about this amazing woman, please access this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth Her statue and memorial is on the approach to the Highland side (west).
The Empire State Trail passes through here. This caboose has been riddled with graffiti and paint to conceal it.
