We are approaching an exciting moment. After years of careful consideration and planning, the very first phase of construction for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail is scheduled to begin at the Breakneck Ridge area in 2023. About an hour’s ride from Grand Central Terminal, Breakneck Ridge is considered one of America’s most popular day hikes, attracting thousands of visitors annually. The Fjord Trail’s origin story begins with a desire by locals to address longstanding issues at this trailhead. These issues include significant traffic and safety hazards for both drivers and pedestrians; lack of designated parking areas, permanent restrooms, trash receptacles, and shelter for trail stewards; an undersized rudimentary Metro-North platform; and no vehicle access for New York City Depart- ment of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff to the nearby facility that helps transport drinking water from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains to New York City. Phase 1: Breakneck Connector & Bridge will be a first-class recreational amenity, with 112 parking spaces; an upgraded Metro-North train station and related safety improvements; a safe, off-road trail connecting the station to the trailhead; restroom facilities; beautiful native landscaping and seating; a trail steward visitor orientation station; and trail improvements. In addition, a bridge will provide hikers and bicyclists with safe passage over the railroad tracks to the water’s edge, from which point the Fjord Trail will eventually extend south to Cold Spring. The bridge will also provide the DEP with much-needed vehicular access to its drinking water infrastructure facility. The challenge of such complex design requirements within a geographically constrained area requires both creativity and depth of technical expertise. Behind this extraordinary vision is an award-winning team of professional architects and engineers, including SCAPE, Gray Organschi Architecture, Fast + Epp Engineers, and Arup. This team, with guidance from Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, Inc. (HHFT), the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), and About the Work, HHFT’s owner’s representative, has created a plan that marries safety and accessibility requirements with a clean, elegant design that allows the iconic surrounding landscape to be the star. “The Breakneck Connector will transform the relationship of visitors and locals to the Highlands landscape—introducing a more ecologically restorative and safe connection for one of the most popular trailheads in the country,” says Gena Wirth, RLA, Design Principal and Partner at SCAPE. Breakneck Connector construction will occur in tandem with the bridge project and will be managed by HHFT and its selected construction manager, Consigli Construction Company. Work on the Breakneck Connector trailhead is planned to commence in spring of 2023 with a new series of stone steps at the initial ascent of the Breakneck Ridge trail, repair of existing erosion conditions, and the construction of a new trail steward station farther away from Route 9D. This work will be completed by Tahawus Trails and JIG Builders. The scope of work in the area between Route 9D and the railroad tracks north of the tunnel will include the trail; new and improved parking areas; two trail banks; stormwater management enhancements; new restroom facilities; and a comprehensive replanting of the area with a native plant palette. Breakneck Bridge construction will be managed by OPRHP. Completion is slated for 2025, at which point DEP will use it to access the Catskill Aqueduct drainage chamber for some significant repair and maintenance projects. After this work is completed, the bridge will become part of the Fjord Trail. “A host of technical and administrative challenges convene at the Breakneck trailhead and bridge site,” says Alan Organschi, design principal and partner at Gray Organschi Architecture, the firm responsible for the bridge design. “These challeng- es include the dense intersection of precipitous landforms; a riverine ecosystem of regional and national significance; the transport and civil infrastructure that crosses under it and edges along it, and all the regulated clearance require- ments and jurisdictional overlaps they entail. All of these challenges pose a nest of design complexities that we weigh against the explicit mission that the Fjord Trail be not only beautiful, but also safe and accessible to all.” Organschi adds, “As we’ve crafted the structure, shape, and character of the Breakneck Bridge, the design team has sought to admit and embrace these constraints as motivation; a form of inspiration as meaningful and productive as the panoramic beauty and charged history of the river itself.” A short video, which provides a sneak peek at what a walk along the bridge could be like, can be found in the Design Team section of our website, hhft.org. D E S I G N H I G H L I G H T PHASE 1: Breakneck Connector & Bridge H U D SO N H IG H L A N D S FJ O R D T R A IL A N N UA L R EP O RT 202 2 9 Design Team SCAPE Landscape Architecture Gray Organschi Architecture Fast + Epp Arup Design Council Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, Inc. is fortunate to have an esteemed group of professionals serving on our Design Council. This group of volunteers brings a depth of experience and expertise in the areas of art, landscape design, sustainable construction, and recreational destination management. The HHFT board and staff draw inspiration and guidance from their input and we are so grateful for their commitment to the Fjord Trail vision. Andrew Chmar * David Collens Christopher Davis * Randy Florke Robert Hammond Daniel J. Kramer * Susan Lowry Claudio Marzollo Melissa McGill Frederic C. Rich * Jonathan Rose Ned Sullivan * * Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, Inc. board member
