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"We've received a few calls ... so we want to assure Hudson Valley residents that our bridges are well-maintained, safe and in excellent condition," Bridge Authority Chairman Jim Sproat said in a prepared statement.
The authority, based in Highland, operates the Rip Van Winkle, Kingston-Rhinecliff, Mid-Hudson, Newburgh-Beacon and Bear Mountain bridges.
Each bridge operated by the authority is fully inspected every two years in accordance with state and federal guidelines, and the authority has each inspection report updated in the intervening year, Sproat said. He said the last full inspections of the authority's five bridges were in 2006 and that the 2007 updates are being prepared.
The 2006 inspections resulted in ratings for all five bridges of "good condition" and "functioning as designed," Sproat said. He said those are the top ratings for bridges that are not brand new.
Barney Martin, senior vice president for Modjeski & Masters Engineering, the firm that inspects the bridges for the authority, said in a prepared statement on Thursday: "The five state Bridge Authority bridges are among the best maintained in the nation. The Bridge Authority's policy of proactive maintenance and their extensive program results in problems being prevented rather than reacting after problems develop."
The Bear Mountain Bridge is the oldest of the authority's five spans, having opened in 1924. It was followed by the Mid-Hudson in 1930, the Rip Van Winkle in 1935, the Kingston-Rhinecliff in 1957, the north span of the Newburgh-Beacon in 1963 and the south span of the Newburgh-Beacon in 1980.
The Kingston-Rhinecliff is the highest of the five bridges, rising about 200 feet above the water at its peak.
