BREAKING: Crown Point bridge to be replaced by Summer 2011
At public meetings today in Ticonderoga, New York state Department of Transportation officials committed to building a new span across Lake Champlain by the summer of 2011.
State Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward (R-Willsboro) who heads the public advisory committee, praised the effort and said the state's response to the bridge crisis has been excellent.
Closure of the Crown Point bridge in mid-October stranded hundreds of motorists who live and work on opposite sides of the lake.
Engineers described the new construction schedule as "aggressive" and acknowledged that the process would include a radically shortened series of environmental and regulatory reviews.
In order to accommodate the new schedule, designers are attempting to place the new structure within the footprint of the old bridge.
It's hoped that the strategy will avoid entanglements with historical, cultural or environmental resources in the area.
During the meeting, state and Federal officials also unveiled six proposed concepts for the new bridge, ranging from spartan concrete structures to graceful cable-supported spans.
You can view all six theoretical designs here. DOT officials are also asking interested parties to fill out this questionnaire no later than Monday afternoon.
Officials say the new structure will include six foot wide bike lanes, sidewalks for pedestrians, and re-engineered supports that would avoid impacts from logging- and agriculture-vehicles.
We'll have much more on this story Monday morning during the 8 O'clock Hour.
posted by Brian Mann @ 12/12/2009 03:32:00 PM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
Can we find out when the demolition is scheduled? It sounds like it would be incredible to watch.
Yes, it should be quite a spectacle and DOT is aware that there's huge public interest. The plan is to do the demolition within the next few weeks. Public information will be distributed on how and where to watch the process. At meetings today people jokingly suggested that it should be done on New Year's eve as part of the fireworks display.
-Brian NCPR
2011? What's the holdup?
The state needs to waive environmental impact statement requirements so the bridge can be built in a timely fashion.
is all the responsibility for the construction of a new bridge placed soley on ny state? or do we have a "partnership" with the state at the other end of the span?
read alot of info here about ny's position, problems, impact, etc..
wondering what vermont and vermonters say about all this.
was the original brige soley owned and controlled by ny state?
New York, Vermont and the Feds are partnering on this project.
The cost-share will be 80 Federal, with both states each picking up 10 percent.
Collaboration between DOT and VTRANS seems to be pretty efficient.
As to the comment about 2011 being slow -- on the contrary.
The original bridge was built in 11 months, back in the day when there were NO environmental checks and balances.
This bridge will, in theory, be built roughly 18 months after the old bridge was condemned.
Remarkable, given that the historical and cultural sites on both sides of the lake at that site are incredibly important.
-Brian, NCPR
Tell the state how you feel about these proposed designs.
An aesthetically pleasing - and unique - bridge could have a lot of upsides for northern New York.
There are thousands of photographers, ad agencies, designers, architects, instructors and other creative types within a four-hour drive of Crown Point. A visually striking bridge could draw many of them for photo shoots, educational field trips and more.
The surrounding vistas are so beautiful that this could convince creative teams to come here instead of making expensive trips to south Florida or California.
This could be a huge boon to the region.
Lots of northern New Yorkers feel we rarely have the chance to make our voices heard in Albany. It's even rarer that we can speak up for building something beautiful in our midst.
We have that chance now. Let's use it.
Jonathan, NCPR
I put in my two cents and did the survey. From a purely historic and aesthetic stand point I choose the design that most reflects on the basic lines of the current bridge... which is beautiful in it's design. I haven't delved into it enough yet to know what the costs are going to be but I agree with Jonathan - the aesthetics of this bridge should be of high priority. I've crossed that bridge a gazzilion times and always thought to myself "I gotta photograph this some time"... but of course never did until a month or so ago - figured I better get it before it falls into the lake. It's a shame to lose this bridge with it's structural and aesthetic importance, but there's nothing that can be done to prevent it so let's look forward and do the right thing for the future. It's going to be around for a long time so let's hope a design is chosen that has people 75 years from now looking back and appreciating the foresight of those that were involved in designing and building this new bridge at the turn of this century.
Mark, Saranac Lake
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