Northeast - NYC: Amtrak Bridge Under The GWB Closed Today.

No really. I know (we all know) there have been signs stating that the section of Greenway from 181st down to the tennis courts is closed. Today the wooden bridge over Amtrak was closed off with that orange netting stuff.

I backtracked and used the footpath that comes out down by the bathrooms just South of the tennis courts.

And to the OP who lost a Planet Bike light on the detour: PM me with the name of the model and we can figure out how to get it back to you.

edit: I should have written Yesterday.

edit: Amtrak not Metro North.

Thanks for the heads up!

np

Still closed off.

You can see the wooden bridge from above just South of the 181st Street pedestrian bridge. Today (yesterday), I made a point of actually looking before just bombing down the hill.

I have a feeling it's going to be a while before that route is usable again.

Aw, man... I needed to start doing hill repeats this weekend.

Thanks for the heads-up.


I backtracked and used the footpath that comes out down by the bathrooms just South of the tennis courts.

If you want to avoid stairs, you can also get on at 158th Street.

Aw, man... I needed to start doing hill repeats this weekend.


Just ride across the bridge and take river road to the alpine approach road. Do that 6x :roflmao2:

I may actually have to build some extra time into my commute to do that. I have a long ride coming up in a couple of weeks, and I don't think the basic commute is sufficient training.

And this was all figured out. Damn...

It's only that one flight, but then; I'm not dragging a trailer.


Aw, man... I needed to start doing hill repeats this weekend.

Thanks for the heads-up.



If you want to avoid stairs, you can also get on at 158th Street.

You'd think they would've put the barricade at the top of the hill or at least posted a sign.

I was just there on Saturday and while the bridge was open it seemed to have more patches than the last time I was there. I wonder if it'll be open on weekends or if they're repairing the bridge itself.

I've been hearing rumors for months that they're going to actually fix the bridge. On the one hand, I'm glad to hear it. On the other hand...

You'd think they would've put the barricade at the top of the hill or at least posted a sign.

There is right at the top of that nasty turn is.

They posted a sign. Everyone has been ignoring it because the bridge was not closed off. Well, now it is closed off. They really should block it at the top now, as well as at that hill just past the tennis courts coming North.


You'd think they would've put the barricade at the top of the hill or at least posted a sign.

I was just there on Saturday and while the bridge was open it seemed to have more patches than the last time I was there. I wonder if it'll be open on weekends or if they're repairing the bridge itself.

Come to think of it, if it's not blocked off until the bridge, I can still do hill repeats down that far, with less traffic than usual.

Those signs have been there since last fall. The path was actually closed for a while during the construction around the GWB. Don't know what the problem with the wooden bridge is. BTW the bridge belongs to Amtrak, not Metro North.

Then I must've missed the sign on Saturday whil I was negotiating that turn, with bollards, trying to thread a path between a couple of people pushing bikes up the hill, and a few pedestrians blocking my way on the downhill.


As dendawg says, the bridge belongs to Amtrak but the construction is being done by, or at least paid for, by Port Authority. I suppose they could fix the bridge in the process but it doesn't seem likely that's part of the plan.

Oops. Amtrak not Metro North. One of you Blue Stars want to fix that? Thanks.

Sure thing.

Though when you call up to tell them that the boards are falling apart they refer you back to NYC Parks Dept.

Signs near 158th say it is to be closed April 20-24.

I believe this is the "final" part of the project. Back in January I spoke to the parks dept. and a gentleman whose name i don't remember, said they were waiting for the weather to get better so they could repave that section.

They were definitely prepping for pavement this morning when I reached the bottom of the hill and they wouldn't let me (or several other commuters) pass through.

He did also mention that they were planning to redo the Amtrack overpass, but at the time they were evaluating to what extent. I hope they simply replace the boards with something a bit more durable and not spend 6 months rebuilding it...

On the way to work (Friday) people were riding over the bridge and up the hill but the powers that be had blocked the entrance at the bollards at the top this time, so they had to figure a way over that, which they did not seem to be having a problem with.

I used the detour.

Yeah, they blocked the top and not the bottom. You don't find out you're not supposed to be there until you climb the hill.

The barrier is only a few feet high, so it's not a problem to just lift your bike over.

There's about 50' of loose dirt and gravel at the bottom, near the lighthouse.

The East Coast Greenway Alliance is sponsoring a ride Sunday morning, along the West Side and Bronx Greenways, to City Island. It certainly would be a shame if bad signage puts a kink in their route.

For anyone interesting in tagging along, the ride leaves at 9am from Pier 84 at West 43 Street.
http://www.greenway.org/pdf/NY_0409agenda.pdf

I squeezed by that barricade this morning on my return from River Road. The path is fine to the bottom of the hill, where the pavement has been replaced by coarse gravel up to the tennis courts. A little dicey but rideable on my 23's. I guess the work is running behind schedule.

Yeah, I came home that way this evening. No barrier at all. The gravel was, as you say, dicey.

I wonder if they will close it back up Tomorrow?

Still closed as of 11am this morning, but the paving looks finished (except for the area around the lighthouse) so it should be reopened soon. Bad news is that the south walkway of the bridge will be closed weekdays until July, with the north walkway and all those stairs open instead. The south walkway will still be open on the weekends.

anyone know if the path is/will be open tomorrow am?

Still closed as of 11am this morning, but the paving looks finished (except for the area around the lighthouse) so it should be reopened soon. Bad news is that the south walkway of the bridge will be closed weekdays until July, with the north walkway and all those stairs open instead. The south walkway will still be open on the weekends.


There are very few times I wish I had MTB shoes, but today was one of them. Going up the first batch of steps from the NJ side in was a pain in the neck with road shoes.

:mad:

Fell down those once - not fun at all.

Path is paved, BUTTTT some a-hole took the sign down or I'm blind.
I road home about 8:30 tonite and ran into the road block, climbed around, others road on the paving so I biked it up.
Smooth as can be. My guess is the path should be open tommorow some time

The construction guys told me yesterday (Monday) that the whole thing would be open today, but I didn't think to ask them what time. I assume, since the paving machine was doing its thing at 5pm, that it's paved and open now--but that's just an assumption.

It's open and all nice and smooth and paved.

It's open and all nice and smooth and paved.

woo hoo!! Thanks for the update.

Sailed right through Yesterday afternoon. Smoooth.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/04/29/washington-heights-greenway-segment-re-opens/