Ferry to replace bridge for now
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The Champlain Bridge, which crosses Lake Champlain, is seen blocked off in Addison on Tuesday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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By Gordon Dritschilo Staff Writer - Published: October 22, 2009
MIDDLEBURY - There likely won't be a temporary bridge across Lake Champlain, but a temporary ferry service is scheduled to launch Monday.
The Champlain Bridge, which stretches from Addison to Crown Point, N.Y., closed Friday due to safety concerns. The Addison County Chamber of Commerce held a meeting on the situation Wednesday, where several business owners described being cut off from employees and customers.
"We have, right now, 100 acres of corn still standing in New York - 45 acres of soybeans," Addison farmer Robert Smith said. "It needs to be harvested right now."
The nearby ferry cannot handle heavy trucks and Smith said he cannot afford to have his produce trucked around the lake via Whitehall and Fair Haven.
About 90 people attended the meeting at the American Legion, and several told stories of employees who, faced with the choice of a 100-mile detour or a costly ferry ride with a long wait, felt they could no longer afford their jobs.
Porter Hospital spokesman Ron Hallman said the hospital has not just employees, but patients on the other side of the lake. He described one employee getting in line at the ferry at 4:30 a.m.
"Some of these people have to get kids to school," he said. "This is not just a monetary issue. This is a logistical nightmare."
Business owners near the bridge described a catastrophic loss of customers.
"We won't be around for another month," said Lorraine Franklin, owner of the West Addison General Store. "We cannot wait."
Vermont Agency of Transportation spokesman John Zicconi said they would not have to wait long. He said the department had people looking at possible spots for a temporary ferry and expected to have an idea of what was feasible in the next few days.
What the state isn't likely to do, he said, is put in a temporary bridge. He said the lake is an international waterway and such a bridge would block it, something the federal government is unlikely to approve. He also said there were safety concerns with such bridges on the lake.
While the existing ferries can't handle heavy trucks, a temporary one could. Dock Doctors owner Jeff Provost, who said most of his business is in New York, said car ferries regularly used on the Hudson River can handle large trucks, as can available temporary docks.
"They did it with Katrina, they did it with 9/11," he said. "That's what they do. The ability is there."
Brian Goodyear, director of engineering and technical services at the Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes, said the resort would start operating a pedestrian ferry Monday.
Goodyear said the resort, which just closed for the season, has a 48-person capacity boat that will run from Westport, N.Y., to the club. The company is prepared to run the ferry until mid-December, he said, but hopes to shut down in two or three weeks in favor of whatever the state puts in place.
"We are not in the ferry business," he said.
The resort is still working out ground transportation details in Vermont, he said, and is putting information on its Web site, basinharbor.com.
A staffer for Sen. Patrick Leahy said Vermont's congressional delegation was watching the situation closely, as was the New York delegation.
Sen. Peter Shumlin, D-Windham County, said the state owed the people at the meeting an apology and promised prompt action.
"This is nothing short of an outrage," he said. "We all dropped the ball and we're sorry."
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com