Rugged long-distance hikers and day-trippers alike will enjoy a new pedestrian trail bridge along the Appalachian Trail at Harriman State Park, thanks to a partnership between the Open Space Institute (OSI), cadets from the United States Military Academy at West Point, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC).
The 34-foot-long steel bridge was constructed as part of a senior-year capstone project by a team of five Civil Engineering cadets with support from three faculty advisors. Located near where the Appalachian Trail crosses Seven Lakes Drive, the new pedestrian bridge features safety upgrades, including level wood decking over steel girders, decorative handrails, concrete abutments and stone armor to minimize streambank disturbance and erosion. In addition, the bridge is nearly two feet higher than the previous version to accommodate seasonal flooding.
OSI’s collaboration with West Point provides the cadets with invaluable hands-on design and expeditionary construction experience as they pursue their civil engineering degrees and train for their military careers, while creating or replacing infrastructure within New York’s state parks.
Over the past eight years, OSI has contributed more than $125,000 toward cadet-built pedestrian bridges in state parks. The institute’s ongoing connection with West Point has yielded nine trail bridges over eight years. This year’s bridge is the second replacement to be completed at Harriman State Park. Projects have also been accomplished at Schunnemunk State Park, and five bridge replacements were completed along the School Mountain Road section of the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail at Fahnestock State Park. A tenth cadet bridge that predates the OSI partnership is located near the residence on Bannerman Island.
