Bear Mountain Bridge

Bear Mountain Bridge, located in New York, connects Rockland and Westchester across the Hudson River. It may not look too exciting, but it was the longest suspension bridge. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the longest suspension bridge since the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia was built – back in the ‘20s.  As the oldest of NYSBA’s bridges, Bear Mountain Bridge was the first vehicular river crossing between New York City and Albany. At the time it was built, it was also the longest suspension bridge in the world and the first suspended bridge to have a concrete deck.         The project of building the Bear Mountain Bridge marked the beginning of a golden age of long span bridge building along the Hudson River and throughout the New York metropolitan area. The success of the inventive methods used broke new ground and paved the way for the building of other suspension bridges such as the George Washington and the Golden Gate.