Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 6, 2016
The Rosendale Trestle is a 940-foot (290 m) continuous truss bridge and former railroad trestle in Rosendale in Ulster County, New York. Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its rail line from New Paltz to Kingston, the bridge rises 150 feet (46 m) above Rondout Creek, spanning both Route 213 and the former Delaware and Hudson Canal. Construction began in 1870; when it opened to rail traffic on April 6, 1872, it was the highest span bridge in the United States. The trestle was rebuilt in 1895 by the King Bridge Company to address public concerns regarding its stability and sturdiness, and it was repeatedly reinforced until 1977, when Conrail closed the Wallkill Valley rail line. The bridge was sold in 1986 for one dollar to a private businessman who tried unsuccessfully to operate it as a bungee jumping platform, and a similar attempt was made the following decade. The trestle was seized by the county in 2009 for tax nonpayment, and renovated for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail as a pedestrian walkway that opened on June 29, 2013. (Full article...)