Building the Second Span Please be patient while pictures load.
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Before its construction, it was estimated that the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge would carry 25,000 cars each day, requiring a four-lane design.  When funding became difficult, Gov. Rockefeller had decided that the bridge would never carry that many vehicles, and a two-lane structure would be sufficient.  Unfortunately by 1964, 25,000 vehicles were using the bridge daily, and traffic jams were becoming a major problem.  The need for greater carrying capacity was soon realized. 

By 1972, the State was considering various ways to expand the bridge capacity.  
Completion of new portions of Interstate 84 in Connecticut had increased traffic flow, creating more problems on the bridge.  How to expand the bridge became a major political debate in the 100th district Assembly race .  Republican-Conservative Richard Schermerhorn advocated adding 2 lanes above or below the existing roadway.  Democrat Louis Diehl favored a twin, 2-lane bridge, while Republican Benjamin Roosa supported the idea of a twin 3-lane 
span and expansion of the original bridge.  According to the bridge designers and the Dept. of Transportation, the Newburgh bridge was not designed to be converted to a double-deck, and the connections to I-84 would have been extremely difficult.  Instead it was decided that a second span would be built south of the original, on land already owned by the Bridge Authority, and the first bridge would then be widened. 
The new span and the reconstruction of the first were financed primarily by the federal government as part of the Interstate Highway Fund.  Ninety percent of the cost of the $94 million bridge was federal money, leaving just ten percent for the state to finance.  The federal government did not want tolls charged on the interstate, so after the state's debt was retired, tolls on the bridge were to be eliminated.  

Top of a cofferdam at Pier 3.

 The foundations for the piers were built using caissons and cofferdams.  Cofferdams are large metal pens set in the river that are lined with concrete, and then the water is pumped out to allow men to work in the space on the river floor and set the piers.  Caissons, large concrete blocks shaped like upside-down U's, were set into the riverbed and the driven down to bedrock 
using the weight of masonry on top as men guided machines to dig out the silt below.  On Pier 7, digging on one side of the caisson went faster than the other, and as a result the whole block tipped to the side.  It took months to set correctly, and was a "breath-taker" according to one construction company foreman.
The superstructure of the bridge was built of new weathering steel.  As the metal rusted, it would form a protective coat that doesn't require painting.  The span was assembled by the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel.  The massive span sections were assembled downriver at a plant in New Windsor, and then floated up to the bridge site on barges, where they were winched up and bolted into place.  When it was finished, the bridge was the longest in the world built from the new rusting steel.
On August 21, 1980, spectators in boats joined the hundreds on shore to watch the 
installment of the final section the new Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.  The 2,000-ton span was hoisted by 4 engines, and secured in place by 2½-ton bolts that measure 18 inches in diameter each.  Despite some work stoppages due to minor labor disputes and OSHA violations, the new bridge was finished on time.  The final concrete pour for the roadway was completed on October 10, 1980.
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