ROSENDALE – It will cost $1.1 million to repair and plank the old railroad trestle over the Rondout Creek and Route 213 in Rosendale as the Wallkill Valley Land Trust seeks to restore it to safety so it can become part of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

So far the Land Trust and the Open Space Institute have raised $450,000 to repair the trestle that is 970 feet long and 150 feet high.

Land Trust Executive Director Christine DeBoer said the development and popularity of the Walkway Over the Hudson is a double edged sword for their project.

“The Walkway Over the Hudson has drawn a lot of attention to the wonder and amazement of having a rail trail turn into exactly that, having a railroad bridge become a pedestrian walkway, but unfortunately, a lot of funding went into Walkway Over the Hudson so a lot of these funding organizations are taking a step back from railroad trestles and focusing on some other things now,” she said.

The Wallkill Valley Land Trust will hold a kick-off event to raise the remainder of the money needed to make the trestle safe for pedestrians.  A portion of it was planked and used last year until engineers declared it unsafe and it was shut down.