Castleton Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name= Castleton Bridge

|image= Castleton Bridge 20091020.jpg

|image_size=300px

|caption=

|official_name=

|also_known_as=Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge

|carries=4 lanes of {{jct|state=NY|NYBC}}

|crosses= Hudson River

|locale= Castleton-on-Hudson, New York

|maint= NYSTA

|id=

|design= Cantilever

|mainspan= {{convert|182|m|ft|sp=us}}

|length=

|width=

|clearance= (?)

|below= {{convert|135|ft|m}}

|traffic=

|open= {{start date and age|1959|5|26}}

|closed=

|toll= $1.05 (both directions)

|lat=

|long=

|coordinates= {{coord|42.5099|N|73.775|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title|name=Castleton Bridge}}

}}

__NOTOC__

The Castleton Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge over the Hudson River, connecting Coeymans, Albany County with Schodack, Rensselaer County in New York. It carries the Berkshire Connector of the New York State Thruway. This bridge is also sometimes called the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge and is situated in close proximity to the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge, which is used by rail traffic.

The Castleton Bridge is located on the longest section of the New York State Thruway that does not have an Interstate Highway designation, between exits 21A (I-87) and B1 (I-90). There is a $0.62 toll each way to cross this bridge. It is not collected at a separate toll barrier, but is rather collected as part of the Thruway's closed toll system. It costs at least $1.05 to cross ($1.00 with an E-ZPass discount), by traveling between exits 22 and B1 on the Thruway. It is the northernmost road bridge on the Hudson River with a toll and is the only bridge with a toll in both directions (collected as part of the Thruway's existing ticketed toll system); every road bridge south of this has an eastbound-only toll.

File:2014-08-28 14 21 13 View west crossing the Castleton Bridge over the Hudson River.JPG|The view on the bridge

File:Castleton Bridge from afar.jpg|The view from about {{frac|1|2}} a mile away

History

The bridge was built in the late 1950s, and opened May 26, 1959 to coincide with the opening of the final 6-mile segment of the New York State Thruway's Berkshire Section connecting to the Massachusetts Turnpike.{{cite web |title=Thruway Fact Book: Part 2 |publisher=New York State Thruway Authority |url=http://www.nysthruway.gov/about/factbook/part2.html#OfficialThruway |access-date=2010-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304152412/http://www.nysthruway.gov/about/factbook/part2.html#OfficialThruway |archive-date=2010-03-04 |url-status=dead }}

L-Tech Coatings completed updates as painting contractor for BBL Construction in two seasons in 1985 and 1986.{{cite web |url=http://www.cdtcmpo.org/linkage/hudson/final.pdf |title=Hudson River Crossing Study - Final Report |date=February 13, 2008 |pages=20–23 |access-date=2010-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719082831/http://www.cdtcmpo.org/linkage/hudson/final.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2011 }}

In May 2007, the bridge carried 14,500 vehicles per day. NYSDOT, FHWA and NYSTA have discussed potential strategies to divert peak hour traffic traveling along Interstate 90 between exit 24 and exit B1 to the Castleton Bridge to reduce traffic volumes on the Patroon Island Bridge in Albany.

In 2023, a $47.6 million project was completed on the Castleton Bridge which included the deck replacement of the westbound travel lanes, repairs to the deck on the eastbound travel lanes, replacement of the center median and bridge steel repairs.{{cite web |title=Governor Hochul Announces Start of $38.2 Million Project to Complete Thruway’s Restoration of the Historic Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge Over Hudson River in Albany and Rensselaer Counties |url=https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-start-382-million-project-complete-thruways-restoration-historic#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20a%20%2447.6%20million,median%20and%20bridge%20steel%20repairs |publisher=New York State |access-date=22 October 2024}}