Bridge Over New York State Thruway Near New Paltz Closed

One of the things we count on in the Hudson Valley is being able to use our backroads. Also known as our cut-throughs or shortcuts. These are the routes that even Google won't suggest which means locals get a break when traffic gets heavy.

Ever since I learned to drive I have been a person that enjoyed back roads that often get you somewhere faster even though they should take longer. Here in the Hudson Valley, we deal with a lot of weekend tourist traffic. Many roads get backed up but if you know the cut-throughs and backroads you can often avoid the stopped traffic.

Brookside Road Bridge is Closed in Highland, New York

On May 22nd one of Ulster County's favorite cut-throughs that links Route 32 and Route 44/55 got shut down indefinitely. Brookside Road in Highland, New York is handy when you are south of New Paltz and trying to find a way to get around without going all the way to Route 299.

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There aren't a lot of details about the closure except that the Brookside Road Bridge that goes over the New York State Thruway has been closed indefinitely. Some who discussed it on social media claimed the closure resulted from a car accident that happened on May 22nd, 2023. It is obviously in need of some sort of repair.

I took a ride out there to see what the bridge looked like from the street side and other than the rust that has obviously been there for a while there were other visible signs of failure but as we know it is not what you see it is what you don't see that causes the problem.

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So even though we can't drive over it the good news is the traffic on the New York State Thruway can still drive under it, for now. The closure has been reported as an "Until Further Notice" so something tells me it is on a list to be repaired but it could be a while so we are going to have to drive farther down the road to miss the crowds this summer.

It is Officially Dine Outside Weather in New Paltz, New York