The Troy Menands Bridge

While we’re on the topic of bridges, let’s move up the river to this old view of the Troy-Menands Bridge. What was originally a lift bridge, as shown here, was opened July 17, 1933 after several years of planning and the usual Albany-Troy tussles that had gone along with bridging the Hudson for a century or so. The span was designed and supervised by a cast of RPI graduates, working with the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, whose maker’s plate still adorns the bridge. The lift operations ended by 1966; the lifting towers were removed in 2000, supposedly to reduce inspection costs. The bridge has seen several rehabilitations, and spans were added to connect it to I-787 in 1967, and is currently being resurfaced. This view includes the old tracks of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, crucial to the success of Henry Burden’s nearby iron works.

Here’s a view of the approach to the bridge on the Troy side. Those lovely entrance towers still stand.

When I originally wrote this post in the summer of 2013, I did not know that I would soon be living in Phoenixville, PA. As a result, I provide a living connection between Troy and Phoenixville and claim the title of Living Troy-Menands Bridge. Or, given my age, Gray-Menands Bridge.