John T. Loughran Bridge

The John T. Loughran Bridge carries U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) over Rondout Creek between Kingston and Port Ewen, New York, United States. It also crosses over Ferry Street on the Kingston side. It is located just downriver from the historic Kingston-Port Ewen Suspension Bridge, which carried 9W until the Loughran Bridge was constructed. It is just upriver from where the Rondout empties into the Hudson River.

John T. Loughran Bridge
Bridge seen from Broadway in Kingston
Coordinates41°55′06″N 73°58′51″W / 41.91833°N 73.98083°W / 41.91833; -73.98083
CarriesFour lanes of US 9W
CrossesRondout Creek
LocaleKingston-Port Ewen, New York
Maintained byNew York State Department of Transportation
ID number000000001069749
Characteristics
DesignSteel continuous girder bridge
Width22 m (73 ft)[1]
Longest span973 feet (295 m)[1]
Load limit75.5 tons (68.6 tonnes)[1]
Clearance below56 feet (17 m)[1]
History
Construction start1977
Construction end1979
Opened1979
Statistics
Daily traffic15056[1]
Location
Map

It is a continuous girder bridge with four spans, totalling 973 feet (297 m) in length. In 1979, upon its opening, it was dedicated and named for John T. Loughran, a Kingston native whose judicial career was capped by his service as chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest judicial position, from 1945 until his death in 1953.

Its construction required the demolition of a few blocks of the West Strand neighborhood on the north side. This rallied preservationists to get the decaying area, once Kingston's waterfront in the days of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, designated a historic district. It was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today many of the buildings have been renovated and the area is a popular destination for visitors to the city.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "National Bridge Inventory". Retrieved 2007-08-17..