East and West Traffic Will Soon Share One Newburgh-Beacon Span
The Newburgh Beacon bridge will soon reconfigure traffic patterns, forcing east and westbound travelers to share the same span.
The New York State Bridge Authority shared information this week about an upcoming project that will close all but one of the lanes on the westbound bridge. Erected in 1963, the northernmost bridge on the dual-span crossing originally handled both east and westbound traffic. On November 1 of 1980, another span was opened right next to it, allowing east and west lanes of I-84 to be diverted to their own bridges.
A Facebook posting describing work that is planned for the older span was shared by the NYSBA this week, revealing a major upcoming change to the bridge's traffic pattern. A much-needed overhaul is planned for the westbound side of the bridge that will include an overhaul of its deck. The construction will result in just one lane of traffic, resulting in the need to divert traffic the eastbound span. The southernmost bridge will handle traffic headed in both directions during the project.
The NYSBA says that they are currently working on a timeline for this project and no start date for construction has been announced. A Facebook response from the agency says that they will push out "plenty of updates" in advance to make sure travelers are given plenty of time to plan their travel before the bridge's traffic pattern is changed.