| Bridge Name: | Dunn Memorial Bridge |
| Official Name: | Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge |
| Also Known As: | Dunn Memorial Bridge |
| Carries: | 8 lanes of NY Bike Rte 5 NY Bike Rte 9 |
| Crosses: | Hudson River |
| Locale: | Albany and Rensselaer, NY |
| Maint: | New York State Department of Transportation |
| Id: | 1093029 |
| Design: | Steel girder bridge |
| Below: | 60 ft |
| Traffic: | 36,000 |
| Open: | 1969 |
| Coordinates: | 42.6431°N -73.7476°W |
The Dunn Memorial Bridge, officially known as the Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge, carries US 9 and US 20 across the Hudson River between Albany, New York and Rensselaer, New York.
Completed in 1969 to replace an earlier span bearing the same name, the highway bridge has a steel girder design. It is the southernmost toll-free road crossing of the Hudson. It is named for Parker F. Dunn, an Albany native who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in World War I.
While traveling eastbound on the Dunn Memorial Bridge towards the City of Rensselaer, there is a noticeable stub where the road ends and traffic is "forced off" the bridge onto offramps for US Routes 9 and 20. The road was originally supposed to continue on as part of the canceled South Mall Expressway to Interstate 90 at present day Exit 8.
Rensselaer's Riverfront Park is located under the eastern end of the bridge. Peregrine falcons have been observed nesting under the roadway since 1998, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation set up a webcam to monitor them.[1]
On July 27, 2005, the bridge was temporarily closed when a ramp leading to the Empire State Plaza split vertically, causing the roadbed to drop more than a foot. A section of the ramp, which at 89feet tall is the uppermost one connecting to the bridge, had slipped and come to rest on a concrete supporting pier. The Department of Transportation was alerted to the situation by a call from a commuter who had driven over the gap. Two steel towers were installed to support the ramp and it was later repaired.[2] [3]
On March 25, 2014, a man jumped off the bridge following a police chase in connection with a shooting the previous night. The man survived and was evacuated via ambulance.[4]
Bicyclists and pedestrians may use the sidewalk along the north side of the bridge.[5]