The Bear Mountain Bridge remains
the leader in percentage of both
traffic and revenue increase
HIGHLAND – Traffic and revenue on all five bridges over the Hudson River operated by the New York State Bridge Authority rose by double digits in the first two months of the year.
In total, traffic in January and February rose 12.5 percent above last year and revenue rose by 11.4 percent.
The increases may be attributed to lower gas prices and milder than usual winter weather with little to no ice and snow than during a typical winter.
The greatest increase in both traffic and revenue – over 18 percent each – continued on the Bear Mountain Bridge.
The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge experienced the second highest traffic increase at just under 11.9 percent while revenue rose by over 11.2 percent.
The Rip Van Winkle Bridge was just behind at over 11.6 percent increase in traffic and close to a 10.4 percent increase in revenue.
The Mid-Hudson and Newburgh-Beacon bridges were neck and neck for percentage of traffic increase at just under 11.8 percent each. Revenue on the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge was up in the first two months of the year at over 11.2 percent while it rose on the Newburgh-Beacon by just under 10.3 percent.
When comparing this January and February to the same months in 2014, total bridge traffic rose by over one million crossings to just under nine million while revenue increased by over $825,200 from $7.3 million to close to $8.1 million.
The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge continued to carry the most vehicles – 3.7 million, up from 3.3 million last year. The Mid-Hudson followed with 2.2 million crossings so far this year, compared to just under two million in the first two months of 2015.
Kingston-Rhinecliff traffic was just under 840,000 vehicles compared with just under 752,000 in January and February of last year.
The Bear Mountain experienced slightly less than 1.1 million crossings in the first two months of 2016 compared by 905,300 last year.
