Ward's Bridge | |
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![]() Bridge viewed looking downriver | |
Coordinates | 41°31′44″N74°14′18″W / 41.52889°N 74.23833°W Coordinates: 41°31′44″N74°14′18″W / 41.52889°N 74.23833°W |
Carries | Two lanes of ![]() |
Crosses | Wallkill River |
Locale | Montgomery, NY |
Maintained by | New York State Department of Transportation |
ID number | 000000001014500 |
Characteristics | |
Design | Through truss |
Total length | 231 feet (70 m) [1] |
Width | 22 feet (6.7 m) [1] |
Load limit | 53 tons (48 tonnes) [1] |
History | |
Opened | 1940 [1] |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 10,448 [1] |
Location | |
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Ward's Bridge carries NY 17K across the Wallkill River at the western end of the village of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. It is named, as its predecessors were, for James Ward, an early settler in the area who established his grist mill on what is now the village side and built the first bridge in the mid-18th century. [2] Originally, Montgomery was even called Ward's Bridge, [3] and today a nearby restaurant calls itself the Ward's Bridge Inn. [4]
The mill has long since been demolished, but the earliest buildings in the village that were built around it still stand and are now the Bridge Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another Registered Historic Place, the Daniel Waring House, is located at the corner of 17K and River Road on the western side.
The current bridge, a steel through truss, is 231 feet (70 m) long, with a 22-foot (6.7 m) roadway and small sidewalk on the eastern (downriver) side. It was built in 1940, and renovated in 1982. [1]
Traffic on the bridge is very heavy at rush hour, since the bridge is the main connection for travel between two regions of the county. The combination of nearby intersections and the layout of Route 17K through the area. The western approach funnels vehicles from the northwest, via county highways like Albany Post Road and River Road (the direct route between Montgomery and Walden). Both terminate at 17K within a quarter-mile (400 m) of the bridge. Within the same distance to the east, in the village, there is the traffic light at the north end of NY 211, which connects Montgomery to Middletown and Goshen, via NY 416.
Route 17K also bends sharply as it intersects both highways to the west, then takes a 90-degree turn onto Ward Street as it enters the village and encounters the light, for eastbound traffic the first since Bullville, six miles (9.7 km) to the west. Both turns slow traffic approaching in either direction, and it in turn backs up drivers on Albany Post and River roads trying to make left turns on 17K. [5]
These issues were aggravated between 2003 and 2005, when the construction of the Walden Veterans' Memorial Bridge downstream led the state Department of Transportation to detour truck traffic to 17K, since the Walden Low Bridge could not handle the prolonged heavy loads. [6]
Interstate 87 (I-87) is a 333.49-mile-long (536.70 km) north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York City borough of the Bronx, just north of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and Grand Central Parkway. From there, the route runs northward through the Hudson Valley, the Capital District, and the easternmost part of the North Country to the Canadian border in the town of Champlain. At its north end, I-87 continues into Quebec as Autoroute 15 (A-15). I-87 connects with several regionally important roads: I-95 in New York City, New York State Route 17 near Harriman, I-84 near Newburgh, and I-90 in Albany. The highway is not contiguous with I-87 in North Carolina.
Walden is the largest of three villages of the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 6,818 at the 2020 census. It has the ZIP Code 12586 and the 778 telephone exchange within the 845 area code. Walden is part of the Poughkeepsie−Newburgh−Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York−Newark−Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
Montgomery is a village located in Orange County, New York, United States, 60 miles (97 km) northwest of New York City, and 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Albany. The population was 3,834 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The village is named after General Richard Montgomery, an officer of the American Revolution.
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New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for 176.73 miles (284.42 km) through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany, it is closely parallel to Interstate 87 (I-87) and U.S. Route 9W (US 9W), overlapping with the latter in several places.
U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1/9, US 46, and Interstate 95 (I-95) approaches to the George Washington Bridge, and heads north up the west side of the Hudson River to US 9 in Albany, New York. As its "W" suffix indicates, US 9W is a westerly alternate route of US 9 between the two locations. US 9W directly serves three cities—Newburgh, Kingston, and Albany—and enters the vicinity of several others. As the route heads north, it connects to several highways of regional importance, including I-84, US 209, New York State Route 23 (NY 23), and US 20. Much of US 9W parallels the New York State Thruway and NY 32; additionally, the latter overlaps with US 9W in four different locations.
New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton County near the Canadian border. At 337 miles (542 km), it is the state's longest north–south route and the third longest state route overall, after NY 5 and NY 17. Many of the state's major east–west roads intersect with, and often join, NY 22 just before crossing into the neighboring New England states, where U.S. Route 7 (US 7), which originally partially followed NY 22's alignment, similarly parallels the New York state line.
New York State Route 17K (NY 17K) is an east–west state highway located within Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for 22.01 miles (35.42 km) from an intersection with NY 17 east of Bloomingburg to a junction with U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) midway across the city of Newburgh. The western terminus was where NY 17K originally connected to its parent route, NY 17; it now meets NY 17 a short distance to the east at an interchange with the Quickway. In Newburgh, NY 17K becomes Broadway and serves as the city's primary east–west street. The road can be divided into a half west of Montgomery, where it runs through relatively undeveloped land, and an eastern half where it closely parallels Interstate 84 (I-84) and serves much more populated areas.
New York State Route 52 (NY 52) is a 108.72-mile-long (174.97 km) state highway in the southeastern part of the state. It generally runs from west to east through five counties, beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Delaware River near Narrowsburg, crossing the Hudson River on the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge, and ending in Carmel. NY 52 and NY 55, both major east–west routes of the Mid-Hudson Region, run parallel to each other, intersecting in downtown Liberty.
New York State Route 211 (NY 211) is a state highway located entirely within Orange County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus is at the intersection with US 209 located in Cuddebackville, and the eastern terminus is located at Montgomery at NY 17K, where it becomes the main thoroughfare.
New York State Route 208 (NY 208) is a state highway located in southern New York in the United States. The southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 17M in the Orange County village of Monroe. Its northern terminus is located at an intersection with NY 32 and NY 299 in the Ulster County village of New Paltz.
New York State Route 416 (NY 416) is a state highway located entirely within the towns of Hamptonburgh and Montgomery in Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for 4.24 miles (6.82 km) in a north–south direction from an intersection with NY 207 in Hamptonburgh to a junction with NY 211 in Montgomery. It does not intersect any other state routes besides those at its termini, nor pass through any settlements. NY 416 is a two-lane highway for its entire length, and mainly serves to allow traffic from the northwestern corner of the county to get to Goshen, the county seat, more easily. Despite its minimal length, the route passes a number of places of interest and is a quite scenic country road. The route was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York.
New York State Route 308 (NY 308) is a short state highway, 6.19 miles (9.96 km) in length, located entirely in northern Dutchess County, in the U.S. state of New York. It is a major collector road through a mostly rural area, serving primarily as a shortcut for traffic from the two main north–south routes in the area, U.S. Route 9 (US 9) and NY 9G, to get to NY 199 and the Taconic State Parkway. The western end of NY 308 is located within Rhinebeck's historic district, a 2.6-square-mile (6.7 km2) historic district comprising 272 historical structures. The highway passes near the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, several historical landmarks, and briefly parallels the Landsman Kill.
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