Rosendale Trestle | |
|---|---|
 The trestle in April 2011 | |
| Coordinates | 41°50′36″N 74°05′18″W / 41.84333°N 74.08833°W |
| Carries | Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, formerly Wallkill Valley Railroad |
| Crosses | |
| Locale | Rosendale, New York, United States |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Post truss[1] |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 940 feet (290 m)[2] |
| Width | 6 ft (1,829 mm) (broad gauge)[1] |
| No. of spans | 9 |
| Clearance below | 150 feet (46 m) above the water[3] |
| History | |
| Constructed by |
|
| Fabrication by | Carnegie Steel Company |
| Construction start | 1870 |
| Construction end | 1872 |
| Inaugurated | April 6, 1872 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Rosendale Trestle is a 940-foot (290-meter) continuous truss bridge and former railroad trestle in Rosendale Village, a hamlet in the town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York. Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its rail line from New Paltz to Kingston, the bridge rises 150 ft (46 m) above Rondout Creek, spanning both Route 213 and the former Delaware and Hudson Canal. Construction on the trestle began in late 1870, and continued until early 1872. When it opened to rail traffic on April 6, 1872, the Rosendale trestle was the highest span bridge in the United States.
The trestle was rebuilt in 1895 by the King Bridge Company to address public concerns regarding its stability, and it has been repeatedly reinforced throughout its existence. Concern over the sturdiness of the trestle has persisted since its opening, and was a major reason Conrail closed the Wallkill Valley rail line in 1977. After the rail line's closure, Conrail sold the bridge in 1986 for one dollar to John E. Rahl, a private area businessman, who tried unsuccessfully to operate the trestle as a bungee jumping platform in the 1990s. A similar attempt was made the following decade. The trestle was seized by the county in 2009 for tax nonpayment, and renovated as a pedestrian walkway for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. The deck and railings now continue all the way across the trestle, and access is from a parking lot about 1⁄4 mile (400 meters) north on Binnewater Road. It opened to the public with a celebration on June 29, 2013.