NEW PALTZ – Eastbound traffic along Route 299 rolled seamlessly across the Wallkill River crossing in New Paltz Tuesday morning, shortly after officials cut the ribbon for the newly rebuilt Carmine Liberta Memorial Bridge.
Hein and Carmine Liberta’s widow, Angie, cut the ribbon ceremonially opening the new bridge
If not for the crowd of politicians, community leaders, and construction workers gathered around the abutment, motorists might have overlooked the fact that an entirely different structure has been installed. This was the plan all along.
“We are very committed to getting it right,” explained Ulster County Executive Michael Hein. “We made sure there was no negative impact. I understood, it would have been tens of millions of dollars [lost], if we had shut this bridge down, and done things the traditional way.”
The county could have shut it down with 15 miles of detours and created “an absolute nightmare,” he said. Instead, DPW crews worked all summer on the replacement span, while a temporary cantilever crossing carried vehicles a few meters north of the project site.
“We wanted something better, we believed we could do something completely different,” Hein said. “We’re passionate about doing something special.”
The county executive praised DPW, which also installed wider bike lanes
and a new pedestrian walkway, which will eventually take westbound wayfarers
to the foot of the Shawangunk Ridge.
Additionally, a park and creek access area will be installed at the village side of the temporary abutment, offering a viewshed for the scenic Mohonk Mountain vista – making this spot Ulster County’s new “Gateway to the Gunks.”
Over three years, including 2017, Ulster County has invested $45 million for new infrastructure, part of an initiative called Building A Better Ulster County. The jobs all focus on enhanced pedestrian and bicycle access.
A New Paltz native himself, Hein chuckled when a busload of passing students heckled him out the window. “By the way, I was those kids, when I was going to New Paltz School, not that long ago; oh it’s kind of long ago now,” he laughed.
Hein was joined by Angie Liberta, the widow of the man for whom the bridge is named.
Back in 2008, the Village of New Paltz formally dedicated this crossing after Carmine Liberta, a lifelong resident and Korean War survivor, who had been active in local veterans’ affairs and served as vice chairman of the town Republican committee for 25 years. Prior to its naming, the bridge was formally known as County Bridge No.135.
Originally, a wooden covered bridge, erected in 1845, stood at the same location. Later, a 153-foot iron bridge was built in 1891 at a cost of $677. The next bridge was built in 1940 and reconstructed half a century later, in 1990.
