Newburgh Beacon Bridge Finally Returns to Normal This Month

It looks like the Hudson Valley's long construction nightmare is finally coming to an end.

It's time for commuters to celebrate because the Newburgh Beacon Bridge is returning to its pre-construction traffic pattern this month. The New York State Bridge Authority has announced that westbound traffic will once again be flowing on the north span, opening up the south span to three lanes of traffic.

When the redecking plan was first revealed to the public, the project was expected to last until the middle of 2023. But things have been moving way ahead of schedule. According to the NYSBA the project is almost finished. Completed portions of the massive project include deck demolition, steel grid panel installation, stud installation, barrier reinforcement installation and completion of the bridge barrier. All that's left is the bridge overlay which is now 90% finished.

Finished, but still more work to be done

While the bridge will finally be back to normal this month, there will still be some construction to deal with on the eastbound side of I-84. Once traffic returns to both spans later this month. construction on new lane configurations for the south span will begin, eventually allowing for an easier exit to Route 9D.

After the toll booths were removed temporary barriers were put in place to direct traffic to 9D. Now, the right lane will be completely dedicated to the exit and begin much further back than it is now.  The exit-only will allow traffic to flow much easier, with the left two lanes continuing on to I-84. It's unclear how long that project will last.