Troubled bridge
Toolbox
Published: October 22, 2009
It is imperative that Vermont, New York and the federal government move as rapidly as possible to get traffic flowing again across Lake Champlain between Chimney Point in Addison and Crown Point, N.Y.
New York transportation officials acted quickly in closing the Champlain Bridge last week after they discovered that cracks in its pilings had grown quickly from 5 inches to 18 inches. No one wanted to see a repeat of the bridge collapse that killed 13 people and injured more than 140 two years ago in Minneapolis.
Here are some facts about Lake Champlain for those who may be in a position soon to make decisions about the future of the bridge. It is about 110 miles long — the largest freshwater lake in the United States after the Great Lakes. One bridge up near the Canadian border connects Swanton and East Alburg, a Champlain Island that is connected to New York state by another bridge. About 30 miles south another bridge connects Milton and South Hero, another of the Champlain Islands. Between the South Hero bridge and the southern tip of the lake, roughly 80 miles away, there are no bridges except the Champlain Bridge.
Businesses on both sides of the lake are already hurting. Owners of small businesses that depend directly on interstate traffic have already declared that the bridge closing last week has devastated their business.
But the effect is more far-reaching than that felt in the immediate locale of the bridge. Commuters traveling from New York to work in Middlebury and other parts of Addison County now face a 100-mile detour. Truck traffic, especially traffic serving the important dairy region of Addison, Bridport, Panton and Ferrisburgh, has been disrupted. Family and friends now find they have to undertake a drive of 100 miles if they want to see each other.
There are ferries between Shoreham and Ticonderoga, N.Y.; Charlotte and Essex, N.Y.; Burlington and Port Kent, N.Y.; and Grand Isle and Plattsburgh, N.Y. The Shoreham ferry is only about 15 miles away from the bridge, but it is small, and there is no way it could handle the volume of traffic that uses the bridge. And it does not operate when the lake ices up.
State officials have declared an emergency, and they were holding emergency meetings this week in Addison County to develop a response to the bridge closing. There was talk of a new ferry at Crown Point, but it would take time to secure boats and build docks. And the ice at Crown Point freezes solid in winter. There was talk of shuttles to handle the detour; Addison County Transit Resources is a resourceful organization and ought to be able to help out. But none of these alternatives would be as efficient as the 2,184-foot span that till lately has sped motorists on their way across the lake.
New York Gov. David Patterson has declared the region a disaster area, and New York transportation officials are talking of quick remedial action, including the possibility of a temporary pontoon bridge.
But quick repair of the bridge is essential, which means that the federal government, which will pay 80 percent of the cost, ought to place the bridge at the top of its list of to-do projects. It may not exactly be shovel-ready, but if federal stimulus money is meant to pay for needed improvements to the nation's infrastructure, here is a project in need of immediate stimulus. Vermont's and New York's congressional delegations must understand the urgency of the need.
The decision by New York state transportation officials to close the bridge cannot be faulted. The transportation agencies had already focused attention on the needs of the bridge when they discovered that it needed work sooner than they thought.
The deterioration of the 80-year-old bridge is a reminder that the investment that the United States made in infrastructure in the early part of the 20th century was only a down payment on a modern economy. Continuing improvements are necessary for the nation to keep pace with growing populations and economic activity. Maintenance of existing infrastructure is essential just to keep from sliding backwards.
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