Champlain Bridge

[markbvt]

Well kids, bad news on the bridge -- apparently it's in such bad shape that it's actually too dangerous to repair, so they have to demolish it and build a new one.

This is going to be a massive pain in the ass for a lot of people for a long time.

http://www.pressrepublican.com/homep...313145543.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ver...mplain_bridge/

--mark

[AHAMAYs2]

That Epicly Blows for a ton of people!

[scubasteveRR]

holy batshit batman, "The closest alternate land route around the bridge is a two-hour detour through Whitehall"

that blows!! do they have a ferry that goes across at all or does everyone who needs to go over the bridge now have to take this 2 hour detour?

[markbvt]

There's a ferry to the north between Essex, NY, and Charlotte, VT, and one to the south at Ticonderoga. And they're talking about adding a temporary ferry at the site of the bridge. But I'm wondering what they're going to do about ice. Maybe they can build an ice road across the lake...

--mark

[Stegosaurous]

Ice roads would be fun. I must say i'd have to go try it out.

[Dichotomous]

its definately better than another catastrophic bridge failure into icy waters though. unfortunet for a lot of people who use the bridge, but better they caught it now, and at least if its going to be a significantly long time (and with monies being low across the board, it will be) then people can make permenant changes to their routines instead of temporary wait and see style changes. building a ferry and dealing with ice there seems like a more massive project than building a new bridge though, gotta buy a ferry, operate it constantly, build the entire ferry support system on each end. not gonna happen

[NobodySpecific]

its definately better than another catastrophic bridge failure into icy waters though. unfortunet for a lot of people who use the bridge, but better they caught it now, and at least if its going to be a significantly long time (and with monies being low across the board, it will be) then people can make permenant changes to their routines instead of temporary wait and see style changes. building a ferry and dealing with ice there seems like a more massive project than building a new bridge though, gotta buy a ferry, operate it constantly, build the entire ferry support system on each end. not gonna happen

Unfortunately for a lot of people (and businesses) the only permanent change that can be made is to quit your job or have your business go under (a ferry might help this in the short term, but who knows how long a temporary ferry in that area is sustainable). This is just going to depress the economy in the areas affected since people can't go to work and places that normally saw heavy bridge traffic (like the restaurant) are now going to have to try to rely on regulars, which probably won't be very successful.

[markbvt]

its definately better than another catastrophic bridge failure into icy waters though. unfortunet for a lot of people who use the bridge, but better they caught it now

The point is they should have caught it or been planning for it years ago. Apparently the bridge was designed for a 70-year service life -- you'd think they might have started thinking 10 years ago about renovating or replacing it instead of waiting till it's too late.

As for the ferry, there's already a team of archaeologists checking out the site on which the ferry terminal will be built (standard first step for nearly any project of this kind). Sounds like a temporary ferry is very likely. I imagine they can just borrow one of the ferries from elsewhere on the lake, so setting up the service shouldn't be that big a deal -- the bigger issue is dealing with the winter ice. Not sure how many of the existing ferries are also icebreakers.

--mark

[AHAMAYs2]

Well at this point we almost just have to wait and see what happens. No matter what the result ferry or not this is going to cause a very large uproar and downward shift in the economy. I do believe that many of the businesses will go out due to the inconvience.

[RandyO]

Well kids, bad news on the bridge -- apparently it's

--mark

WTF! Mark this is important news why did you bury it here

Suck for sure, it takes T*** Road out of my day ride range or at least puts it at its limits, who wants to go thru Whitehaul, I'll take the long way thru Rouses Point

I remember when the bridge was a toll

[markbvt]

WTF! Mark this is important news why did you bury it here

Sorry, this has become the default repository for Vermont news. But you're right, I should probably have put this in the main forum.

Suck for sure, it takes T*** Road out of my day ride range or at least puts it at its limits, who wants to go thru Whitehaul, I'll take the long way thru Rouses Point

In a pinch you can take the Essex/Charlotte ferry. It's free now that the bridge is closed.

--mark

[Trouble]

I've heard rumors about the Charlotte ferry service being moved down to Crown Point. It would figure because we are looking at doing a project over in Essex NY this winter.

[yesterdayze]

Hmm, my manager drives from right on the other side of the bridge every morning to come manage me. Make that he did. Haven't seen him in a few weeks now of course. I'll have to ask him about a promotion

[Danz19899]

wow this blows puts all the good roads in NY a bit further away

[Stegosaurous]

Suck for sure, it takes T*** Road out of my day ride range or at least puts it at its limits, who wants to go thru Whitehaul, I'll take the long way thru Rouses Point

Rouses point is Hella far away

[RandyO]

Rouses point is Hella far away

not really much further from my house, I just have to take a different route

[Stegosaurous]

not really much further from my house, I just have to take a different route

Oh when you put it that way.... you live where??? lol. Sorry but i've never been.

[RandyO]

Oh when you put it that way.... you live where??? lol. Sorry but i've never been.

from my house 198 miles to Crown Point Bridge, 209 miles to Rouses Point Bridge

even when I lived in Hinesburg and went to college at Paul Smith's, either route was just as quick

[Stegosaurous]

So i was reading a paper while i was inline at the store. Turns out replacing the span will be cheaper then repairing it. I dont have much more details or #'s but that's the gist of the article.

[Ericthejet]

I live about 15 minutes from the bridge.
More than a few shops along rt. 22 have already seen a big drop in business.
The store at the corner of 17/22 IMO has some of the best pizza and they have reported food sales from their deli are down about 60%.
I agree that a plan should have been started years ago "in case".

We used to run a small cafe in Bellows Falls and when the bridge in town was closed for the same reasons we saw a drop in sales as well. We had a "Plan B" in the works but as a previous business owner I do feel badly for these folks setup along what was once a busy stretch.

I think a temp. bridge is in the works a bit south of the CP location.

[markbvt]

So i was reading a paper while i was inline at the store. Turns out replacing the span will be cheaper then repairing it. I dont have much more details or #'s but that's the gist of the article.

Yeah, that was on the news last night too. Something like $62 million to build a new bridge versus $84 million to repair the old one.

--mark

[TimmyB]

perfect time to try out the new MEGA AVLB, or the VTANG can practice air lifts with a chinook. i'll hook up my pintles now!

[Rambunctous]

Years late. Cost overruns. EPA. Green people. Funding delays. Enviromental studies. Lawsuits. (Temporary)Tolls all over the state to pay for the Big Bridge Project. Shady contracters, Shoddy work. Political corruption. How do I know whats laying in store?

[markbvt]

Yeah, no kidding. I have a feeling we'll be lucky if the new bridge is open by 2020.

--mark

[RandyO]

Yeah, no kidding. I have a feeling we'll be lucky if the new bridge is open by 2020.

--mark

I'll bet there will be a new bridge by 2014, give em 2 years for design and another 2 years for construction

good chance it'll be toll once again, imho, they were short sighted when they did away with the one way dime toll about 30 years ago, had they continued to collect, the new bridge would have a big downpayment on cost