Colonel, Daughter Finish Trail Bridge West Point Cadets Designed

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — A West Point engineering instructor and his college-aged daughter stepped in to construct a new trail bridge at Fahnestock State Park, after the cadet students who designed it were forced to cut their on-campus school year short due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

This was the third year of a partnership between the United States Military Academy, the Open Space Institute and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Each year they've replaced a trail bridge in the increasingly-popular park across the Hudson River from West Point through which the Appalachian Trail runs.

Design and construction of the bridges is one type of capstone project for civil engineering cadets at USMA. However, the construction phase for this year’s bridge on the School Mountain trail was put on hold when the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated in New York and schools, businesses and parks shut down.

While the engineering students designed the bridge and prefabricated several of its pieces, they were unable to construct it before being sent home in the spring.

So after the semester ended, course instructor Colonel Brad Wambeke stepped in to finish the project with help from his daughter Emilie Wambeke. Occasionally accompanied by other members of their family, the two spent 10-12-hours a day on construction and finished the project in a week and a half.

Colonel Wambeke kept the designers (now 2nd Lieutenants, having graduated June 13) updated after each day's work.

“While the cadets were unable to construct the bridge due to Covid-19, I was impressed by their design and am certain that they would have been more than capable to implement it," he said. "Now, during our family hikes at Fahnestock, we will walk over a bridge we helped build."

Emilie, a rising college junior who is majoring in Interior Design, was more than happy to get outside and help complete the project. "I felt fortunate to be able to spend that extra one-on-one time with my dad."

The 24-foot-long bridge can carry more than 15 tons.

Fahnestock’s West Point bridges each have a distinct style which reflects the needs of the setting and the design preferences of each class. This year’s bridge is a multi-use arch suspension bridge, designed for equestrian use and to reduce streambank erosion.

The bridge constructed last year was a raised flat bridge with a prominent “A” design incorporated into the railings.

"The work started by the cadets, and finished by Colonel Wambeke, his daughter Emilie, and their family is a testament to the love and community support that keeps this park thriving,” said Kim Elliman, OSI’s president and CEO. “OSI has worked to protect and improve Fahnestock State Park for more than 20 years and we are proud to support the work of others who are providing the park with an infusion of energy and much-needed repairs."

OSI provided more than $14,000 toward the project from its Waletzky State Parks Fund for bridge materials, while parks officials obtained the appropriate permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and helped with site preparation and moving the large structural beams.

“State Parks is grateful to partner with OSI and the West Point Cadets on this project to improve Fahnestock State Park for future visitors,” said Linda Cooper, Taconic Regional Director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "This wonderful story highlights how a range of partnerships with private organizations, volunteers, and community members ensure that our parks are the best that they can be."

The bridge replacements are part of a larger, collaborative improvement project called the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail. Earlier this year, OSI announced and began a series of projects at Fahnestock to improve and upgrade the trails between Hubbard Lodge and East Mountain Road, as well as improve safety and access to OSI-protected lands in the northern section of Fahnestock State Park, provide enhanced wayfinding signs for navigation, and better accommodate new and existing users to the park.

One part of the project is transforming State Route 301, which on weekends is packed with cars, hikers, kayakers, picnickers and bicyclists, into a true park drive.

The Hubbard-Perkins Trail project is also being supported by the Taconic Regional Parks Commission and Friends of Fahnestock-Hudson Highlands State Parks.

"This new bridge is another beautiful reminder of how important partnerships and volunteerism are to the success of our state parks," said Lucy Waletzky, chair of the commission and the New York State Council of Parks.

Since the 1990s, working in partnership with the State of New York, OSI has doubled the size of Fahnestock State Park, bringing the park to more than 14,000 acres of protected woodlands, valleys, and plateaus. In 2016, OSI raised more than $1.2 million to renovate the Canopus Beach/Winter Park Complex at Fahnestock and improve trails and trailheads. OSI is continuing its commitment by carrying out critically needed repairs and access improvements so that future generations can continue to enjoy the park.

SEE ALSO: West Point Cadets Build 2nd Bridge In Fahnstock Park