Lawmakers question NYSDOT over Hudson Valley bridges cited in NTSB report

In a letter to state DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, State Senators Rob Rolison, Michelle Hinchey and James Skoufis ask her to share her thoughts on a recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The report identified 68 bridges across the country that still need to be evaluated for their risk in a vessel strike. More than a dozen New York bridges were named, including two in the mid-Hudson Valley: the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge between Hudson and Catskill.

State Senator Rob Rolison, a Republican from the 39th District, says both bridges see a lot of traffic — from the vehicles that cross them and the cargo ships that pass underneath.

“There are significant amounts of river traffic, but also there are ocean-going ships that go up and down the river all the time," says Rolison. "From the Newburgh-Beacon bridge north, many of the same river-going traffic is going underneath both [bridges].”