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September 1, 2011

KIM SMITH DEDAM Press-Republican The Press Republican Fri Sep 02, 2011, 06:29 AM EDT

LAKE PLACID — Travel routes to the Adirondack region's economic center are open.

You can get to Lake Placid, but in a roundabout way that might take more time.

Storm damage on Route 73 has severed Northway Exit 30 access to Keene and Lake Placid from points south.

Barriers protect travelers from washouts across entire stretches of Route 73, where rivers literally carved new courses across the road.

County and state highway officials are detouring people who want to get to Wilmington and Lake Placid and Saranac Lake beyond the usual exit to Exit 37 in Plattsburgh, shifting traffic onto Route 3, where people can then travel to Bloomingdale and south on 86 to Saranac Lake.

Traffic can also reach Keene through Elizabethtown via Route 9N.

BRIDGE FLOODED

The main culprit causing delays on Route 73 from Keene through the Cascade Pass is a steel-truss double bridge over the Ausable River near the Olympic ski jumps.

The bridge was compromised as water rose over it on Sunday.

The Route 73 bridge is a State Department of Transportation crossing. But North Elba Highway Superintendent Larry Straight watched as waters overtook the bridge and River Road.

"I was down there at 2:30 on Sunday. There was 4 feet of water on that road. It went 2 feet over the bridge at the ski jumps," Straight said.

The bridge at the ski jumps was a priority Thursday as DOT worked to clear a veritable log jam off the iron trusses.

One lane of traffic is moving over the bridge, limited to local traffic back and forth from homes and businesses near the Cascade Pass.

RAGGED ROAD

The other ingress-egress to Lake Placid from the east is Route 86 through Wilmington.

It, too, is down to one lane in parts and marked with safety barriers where the road's edge is ragged.

In Wilmington, travel is detoured through AuSable Acres into Jay and AuSable Forks, where traffic can then flow to I-87.

Again, Straight said, it is important for people to follow detour signs.

"The Notch Road (Route 86 connecting Lake Placid and Wilmington) is open; bridge construction is under way. As long as people follow detour signs, they should be okay."

The Exit 37 detour to Lake Placid off I-87 adds 45 minutes to the trip. But holdups on local roads would probably create the same time delay, Straight said.

LOJ ROAD OPEN

Riverside Drive, an Essex County road, was made passable on Wednesday with one lane that is safe "as long as people take their time," Straight said.

Crews from the state and town helped rebuild temporary access to the Adirondack Loj Road bridge near the High Peaks Information Center, so hikers stranded at the ADK Loj could get their vehicles out.

"The Adirondack Loj road was repaired Wednesday for local traffic only," Straight said.

HIKING BANNED

There is no hiking allowed this weekend, according to officials with the Department of Environmental Conservation.

The mountain slopes are fragile, saturated with rain. Numerous rockslides have occurred in the High Peaks.

And many, many trails are covered and impeded with blowdown, rocks and running water.

"There is a DEC officer turning people around at South Meadows Road intersection with the Loj Road and sending them back the other way," Straight said.

Road damage even in higher elevations has challenged town, county and state highway officials to triage access, giving first response to isolated communities.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," Straight said.

Email Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com