{{Short description|Bridge in New York, United States}} {{One source|date=June 2015}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = George Clinton Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge | image = Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge.jpg | image_size=300px | caption = | official_name = George Clinton Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge | locale = Kingston, New York and Rhinecliff, New York | carries = 2 lanes of {{jct|state=NY|NY|199}} | crosses = Hudson River | open = {{start date and age|1957|Feb|2}} | maint = New York State Bridge Authority | design = Continuous under-deck truss bridge | toll = (Eastbound only) cars: <br>$1.65 E-ZPass<br>$2.15 tolls-by-mail | mainspan = 2 × 800 ft (244 m) | length = 7,793 ft (2375 m) | width = 2 lanes with shoulders | below = 152 ft (46.3m) above river | coordinates = {{coord|41.9776|N|73.94625|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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The '''George Clinton Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge''' is a continuous under-deck truss toll bridge that carries NY 199 across the Hudson River in New York State north of the City of Kingston and the hamlet of Rhinecliff. It was opened to traffic on February 2, 1957, as a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge, although it was not actually complete. The formal opening was May 11, 1957. The original cost was $17.5 million.<ref name="NYSBA">New York State Bridge Authority. Highland, NY. [https://www.nysba.state.ny.us/bridgepages/KRB/KRBpage/NYSWeb_krb_page_NoLogo.htm "The 'George Clinton' Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge"]. Accessed 2017-11-08.</ref> {{stack|thumb|Bridge seen from Eastern shore of the Hudson River}} The bridge, owned by the New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA), carries two lanes of traffic and approximately 17,000 vehicles per day. It was designed by David B. Steinman and the builders were Harris Structural Steel and Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation, and is the second northernmost, and second newest, of the five bridges that NYSBA owns and operates. The bridge has two main spans, since there is an east and west channel in the Hudson River at this point.
==Development== Planning for a bridge in this general area to replace the ferry service, which was viewed as sporadic and unreliable (there were no Hudson bridges for a half-hour or more drive time in either direction), began in the early 1940s. The site for the bridge, as originally proposed, was between Kingston Point and downtown Rhinebeck, and the design was initially a suspension bridge almost identical in appearance to the Mid-Hudson Bridge. When the site was relocated about {{convert|3|mi|km}} northward, there was no stable bedrock for anchorages, so the design was changed to a continuous under-deck truss. Construction commenced in 1954. When the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was proposed, provisions were inserted in the enabling legislation that construction on that bridge could not commence until the Kingston–Rhinecliff was completed.
thumb|left|Eastward commuters drive into fog which covers the Rhinecliff half of the Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge on a fall morning
Like all NYSBA bridges, the Kingston–Rhinecliff is a toll bridge, with the toll collected only for eastbound vehicles. Originally, tolls were collected in both directions. In August 1970, the toll was abolished for westbound drivers, and at the same time, eastbound drivers saw their tolls doubled. The tolls of eleven other New York–New Jersey and Hudson River crossings along a {{convert|130|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch, from the Outerbridge Crossing in the south to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in the north, were also changed to eastbound-only at that time.<ref>{{cite web | last=Moran | first=Nancy | title=One‐Way Tolls Confusing Some Drivers | website=The New York Times | date=August 13, 1970 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/13/archives/oneway-tolls-confusing-some-drivers.html | access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref>
In 2000 the state ceremonially renamed the bridge after George Clinton, New York's first Governor, fourth Vice President of the United States and a resident of the Hudson Valley.<ref name="NYSBA" /><!-- [https://www.nysba.state.ny.us/bridgepages/KRB/KRBpage/krb_stats.htm NYSBA stats]
Designer D.B. Steinman Builder Harris Structural Steel Co; Merritt-Scott & Chapman Corp. Overall length 7,793 feet Main span length 800 foot spans over both east and west channel Clearance above river 152 feet (46 m) Opened February 2, 1957 Acquired by NYSBA February 2, 1957 Bridge Type Continuous Under-Deck Truss Original Cost $17,500,000 1998 Replacement Value $159,380,000 -->
In late 2019, a pedestrian path was added to the bridge. It is 4 feet wide, separated from traffic by a 3-foot-high barrier. The path is part of the Empire State Trail project. The path is on the south side of the bridge, next to eastbound traffic. It is for pedestrians only; bicyclists on the span will continue to be required to use the shoulders of the road.
At midnight on December 1, 2021, the bridge was converted to all-electronic tolling in the eastbound direction and the toll plazas were dismantled. At the same time, the road heading towards the bridge was narrowed to two lanes, and a turn lane was added in the other direction.
==Tolls== In 2019, the bridge authority announced that tolls on its Hudson River crossings would increase each year beginning in 2020 and ending in 2023. As of May 1, 2021, the current toll for passenger cars traveling eastbound on the Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge was $1.75 in cash, $1.45 for E-ZPass users. In May 2022, tolls will rise to $1.55 for E-ZPass users and $2 for cash payers. In 2023, the E-ZPass toll increased to $1.65, and the cash toll rose to $2.15.<ref>{{cite web | last=Doxsey | first=Patricia | title=Hudson River bridge tolls for E-ZPass users rise next month | website=Daily Freeman | date=April 12, 2021 | url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2021/04/12/hudson-river-bridge-tolls-for-e-zpass-users-rise-next-month/ | access-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref> No toll is collected for westbound traffic. {{wide image|Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge Panorama.jpg|600px|Bridge seen from Kingston Point}}
==See also== *List of fixed crossings of the Hudson River
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge}} *[https://www.nycroads.com/crossings/kingston-rhinecliff/ NYCroads: Historic overview] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150424144358/https://www.nysba.state.ny.us/index%20page/tolls.htm Toll schedule] - NYSBA * {{Structurae|id=20001720|title=Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge}} *[https://www.chashsells.com/Services/TransEng/projects/Route199.htm Chas H. Sells] rehabilitation project information
{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Hudson River |bridge = Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge |bridge signs = 25px |upstream = Rip Van Winkle Bridge |upstream signs = 20px |downstream = Poughkeepsie Bridge |downstream signs = }} {{Hudson River}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge}} Category:Bridges over the Hudson River Category:Bridges completed in 1957 Category:Bridges in Ulster County, New York Category:New York State Bridge Authority Category:Buildings and structures in Rhinebeck, New York Category:George Clinton Category:Continuous truss bridges in the United States Category:Road bridges in New York (state) Category:Toll bridges in New York (state) Category:Steel bridges in the United States