Traffic, revenue decline on Hudson River bridges

Traffic volume and revenue on the five Hudson River crossings operated by the New York State Bridge Authority were lower in February 2017 than in the same month a year earlier, according to new data provided by the authority.

Overall traffic volume on the five bridges fell by 3.53 percent; revenue from tolls dropped by 3.98 percent.

Authority officials cited two possible factors for the declines: February being a day longer in 2016, and two snowstorms occurring in February 2017.

The steepest drops in traffic and revenue were on the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which links Highland in Ulster County to Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County. Year-over-year traffic volume on the Mid-Hudson fell by 5.17 percent, which traffic volume declined by 4.64 percent. On the authority’s other bridges: • The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, which connects the Ulster Count town of Ulster to the Dutchess County town of Rhinebeck, recorded a 3.47 percent drop in traffic volume from one February to the next and a 3.15 percent drop in revenue.

• The Rip Van Winkle Bridge, which connects Catskill in Greene County to Greenport in Columbia County, had a 3.62 percent drop in traffic and a 3.97 percent decline in revenue.

• The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge had traffic volume drop by 3.23 percent and revenue fall by 4.48 percent.

• The Bear Mountain Bridge, which links northern Rockland and Westchester counties, experienced the smallest declines — 1.15 percent in traffic volume and 0.74 percent in revenue.

Tolls are collected only from eastbound drivers on the five bridges.