[7] At a length of 6,768 feet (2,063 m), it was the world's longest pedestrian footbridge from its opening[8][9][10] until October 2016, when it became the second-longest after being surpassed by the 7,974-foot (2,430 m) Mile Into the Wild Walkway in Keenesburg, Colorado, United States.

[14][15] Over the years, many plans had been made for a fixed span across the Hudson River south of Albany to replace numerous car float and ferry operations.

Eastman had met Andrew Carnegie, principal owner of the Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburgh and previously a manager at the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).

J. Edgar Thomson, President of the PRR, was persuaded to provide financial support, and Keystone became the contractor for the initial attempt to build a bridge at Poughkeepsie.

[15][18] Traffic across the bridge began a slow decline in the 1950s as industry shrank in New England and with it the need for the raw materials railroads excelled at transporting.

At the same time, some new traffic began crossing the bridge, such as the New Haven's "Super Jet", one of the first trains to carry truck trailers.

The service ended in a dispute over haulage charges and the traffic was diverted to the longer all-Penn Central route through Selkirk, New York.

[14] A photograph of the last train, a run-through from the Erie Lackawanna, was included in a 40th anniversary web feature by the Poughkeepsie Journal.

In August 1974, the Penn Central applied for $1.75 million to repair and improve the bridge from the federal government through the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973.

The railroad further said that other work required to make the entire Maybrook route usable would raise the reactivation cost to $45.8 million.

This decision was made personally by then-Conrail Chairman L. Stanley Crane, at a time when Conrail was owned by the U.S. government.

[14] One day later, on November 2, 1984, Conrail sold the bridge for $1 to a group of investors from St. Davids, Pennsylvania, called Railway Management Associates to "get it off the books".

[38] Central Hudson de-energized those power lines and relocated them under the river by early 1985, thereby ending Miller's only source of bridge income.

Further, all of the 2,200-pound brackets that connected Central Hudson's de-energized high-tension power lines to the south side of the bridge continued to deteriorate by rusting.

Though Central Hudson admitted that it normally had a legal duty to remove its abandoned power lines, it refused to remove its abandoned bridge-affixed lines, instead relying on a claim that it no longer owned the lines at issue pursuant to prior litigation with Conrail that was decided on September 26, 1984,[39] and won a similar legal opinion before the New York State Public Service Commission in 1995, which was left to stand on April 1, 1999, when The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge Company, Inc., as the successor owner to Gordon Schreiber Miller and Vito Moreno, withdrew its 1998 complaint against Central Hudson on January 27, 1999.

On December 21, 2010, the Walkway corporation conveyed the entire structure to the New York State Bridge Authority, which restored high-limit liability insurance and "deep-pocket" maintenance assurance for the first time since November 2, 1984.

[41] On September 5, 2009, conversion work and repairs to the structural steel and the laying of concrete slabs for the walkway were completed.

"[42] The project initially received support from local residents, city and state officials totaling about $1,000,000, plus forgiveness of $550,000 in taxes inherited from the previous owners.

[47] These lines of credit were converted to loans, with an additional $2.3 million allocated to 2014 elevator construction, and were guaranteed and paid-off by The Dyson Foundation (see above).

(of Rochester and Albany, New York), project engineers and managers, has stated in writing that the wind loads were carefully examined for the replacement, solid-concrete Walkway decking, and that this item is not a safety problem.

Despite this, inevitable comparisons have been drawn to the similar Kinzua Bridge, in northwestern Pennsylvania, which blew over in a microburst tornado when the bolts connecting the steel framework to the piers failed.

Ironically, renovation work was going on to strengthen the corroded areas when the tornado destroyed most of this former Erie Railroad viaduct.

[52] The opening ceremony of the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park was held on October 3, 2009, as part of wider NY400 celebrations, featured music by Pete Seeger, and was attended by Governor David Paterson, Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, president of nearby Vassar College Catharine Bond Hill,[53] John May, engineer of the last train across the bridge, and other officials.

It also connects the walkway to the Poughkeepsie waterfront area, which is near the railroad station, Mid-Hudson Children's Museum, and Waryas Park.

The facility has a plaza and amphitheater, 1,400 square foot covered patio and concession stand and public restrooms.

The 1,800 square-foot facility features restrooms, bike racks, tourist information, an outdoor patio with benches and a water fountain for dogs.

[61] A new glassed-in elevator, opened on June 20, 2019, that takes visitors to the Walkway from Upper Landing Park has been rebuilt with new "energy chain" technology which will make operations more reliable.

[64] The 5K race, called "Treetops to Rooftops," has become an annual event, organized by the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club.

On May 15, 2010, LEDs were turned on for the first time, designed to allow nighttime use of the bridge, though due to funding limitations this is expected to only be used on special occasions.

[66] Crowd management presented a problem, prompting criticism and an apology from walkway organizational leaders, but ultimately no incident or injury.