The Mid-Hudson Bridge is a wire suspension crossing that carries US Route 44 and NY Route 55 over the Hudson River between Ulster County and Poughkeepsie, New York. The movement for a vehicular crossing began in 1919 when Governor Alfred E. Smith expressed support for the plan. Subsequently, a local committee raised funds and retained George W. Goethals & Company to survey and prepare plans. The firm estimated the cost of constructing a cantilever bridge at $4.9 million.
In 1923, legislation was introduced in the state legislature by J. Griswold Webb and John M. Hackett, calling for the construction of the bridge. At that time, the Bear Mountain Bridge was the only existing bridge across the river south of Albany. On June 2, 1923, Governor Smith signed the legislation, which appropriated $200,000 to provide surveys, specifications, and preliminary work.
The Mid-Hudson Bridge design contract was awarded to Modjeski & Moran, with construction beginning in May 1925. Work was halted for a year when the east caisson experienced a severe tilt that had to be corrected using pulleys and dredged at 18 inches per day over the next two years. Superstructure erection began by the American Bridge Company in April 1929, and the new Mid-Hudson Bridge opened to traffic in August 1930.
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