Hoyt Carriageway Bridge wins $150,000 Parks & Trails Grant!
CVPA has won a $150,000 Stewardship Award from the Environmental Protection Fund’s Parks and Trails Partnership Grants Program to repair and reopen the Hoyt Carriageway Bridge, the historic main entrance to The Point. The $200,000 project includes removing and replacing the deteriorated deck, replacing some of the wood stringers, installing metal safety fencing and making repairs to a concrete pier and abutment. This will re-open a popular entrance to Mills Norrie State Park and an access point to the river.
Last year, a Hudson River Valley Greenway Trails Grant helped support CVPA in hiring engineer Peter Melewski LLC to compile a Historic Structure Report (HSR) for the Hoyt Carriageway Bridge. This extensive engineering report determined that the steel structure is sound and outlined the above steps needed to reopen the bridge.
As the HSR had recommended, CVPA removed trees encroaching on the east side of the structure last summer. Amtrak waived its normal flagman fees for CVPA to organize this work, which was completed pro bono by Dave's Tree Service of Rhinebeck.
In a subsequent $10,000 project in December 2022, CVPA retained Mr. Melewski to conduct load ratings and other engineering requirements needed for the rehabilitation. He also helped to assemble the contractor bid package so CVPA could collect estimates to support grant applications and donor requests for the project. In December, with support letters from Amtrak, NYS Parks, the Town of Hyde Park, and the Central Park Conservancy, CVPA applied to Parks and Trails NY for the aforementioned grant to help fund the major phases of the repair work—and was awarded it!
Jon Lawson, Chair of CVPA’s Board, who heads up the organization’s newly launched Site Committee, says “We are organizing volunteer projects to help with some of the match and are on course to get the bridge re-opened this summer. We have chosen our contractors, who are being very patient as we negotiate the complex details of working over an active railroad.” The concrete repair was completed in December of 2023, and the decking and fencing phases are set to commence in May of 2024.
To learn more about CVPA’s new Site committee,
please contact Jon Lawson, Board@calvertvaux.org
To contribute to reopening the Hoyt Carriageway Bridge, click here!