Trail/NYC/WKVY Wallkill Valley RR Bridge over Wallkill River near New Platz, NY

(Bridge Hunter broke Mar 22, 2023; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

WKVY = Wallkill Valley Railway

By 1942, this route was owned by NYC. [1942 Rosendale Topo Map @ 24,000]

While studying the Wallkill Valley Trestle, I came across several photos of this bridge that is on the same trail. See Bridges & Tunnels for the trestle bridge for some history for of this railroad route and trail.

Katy Silberger Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Wallkill Valley Railroad Bridge near New Paltz, NY

The Wallkill Valley Railroad, begun in 1866, reached New Paltz, NY in 1870. On December 22, 1870 on page 2, the New York Times reported, "A pleasant party left this City on Tuesday morning for New Paltz, in Ulster County, NY, for the purpose of attending the celebration of the opening of the Wallkill Valley Railway."

Eventually it became part of Vanderbilt's New York Central Railroad and finally Conrail. Passenger service ceased in 1937, and freight in 1997. The railroad tracks are almost all gone now, and around New Paltz, it is a 15 mile long park called the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

This is the old Wallkill Valley Railroad bridge near Rosendale.

hvmag
[This web page is a travelog about the trail.]

I could not find any elevation views of the bridge. Looking at a satellite image, the reason is that both shores are lined with a thick stand of trees.

ptny
This part of the trail was opened in 1993.
"Half of the trail, from New Paltz to Kingston, has been designated as part of the statewide Empire State Trail, which, when complete next year, will stretch 750 miles, running from New York City to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo."
New Paltz is a regional hub for trails. This trail has access to four nearby trails.

HudsonValleyOne, photo by Lauren Thomas
But this bridge was closed in 2016 due to safety concerns.

It wasn't fixed and reopened until 2021. [TimesUnion]