County demands state and federal emergency for closed bridge

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Kim Smith Dedam

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October 20, 2009

State, feds urged to order immediate fix

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Tue Oct 20, 2009, 07:56 AM EDT

ELIZABETHTOWN — County supervisors on Monday implored New York and Vermont governors to declare a state of emergency over closure of the Champlain Bridge.

They want a federal response, as well.

Essex County declared a state of emergency Friday, when the bridge between Crown Point, N.Y., and Chimney Point, Vt., was barricaded due to structural damage.

BIG IMPACT
"This is far, far more than an inconvenience," said Ticonderoga Supervisor Robert Dedrick.

"What I'm so irritated about is that we knew four years ago this bridge would be in this type of disrepair. I would have liked to see (a disaster plan) go into effect immediately.

"My phone has rung off the hook, people have visited my office, people have visited my home "¦ I know people have already turned in their (quit-work) notices; they can't get over there."

Outrage about the situation echoed across the county, especially in eastern towns, where many people travel to and from Vermont to work.

"I had one family call; they were crying," said Westport Supervisor Dan Connell.

"They told me, 'We have to quit our jobs; we can't afford $100 week for the ferry.'

"If we were over in Iraq, there would be a temporary bridge in there quick," he added. "The answer is we've got to get a temporary bridge in there."

FARM IMPACT
Costs for car travel round trip on the Essex ferry amount to $533 per month via Lake Champlain Transportation Co., which has added a third ferry and extended hours to 10 p.m.

The Ticonderoga ferry costs $200 a month round trip for cars with a cash discount, or $280 without.

"If it were somewhere else, there would be a bridge in there," said Chesterfield Supervisor Gerry Morrow, predicting disaster for farmers with crops and animals on both sides of Lake Champlain.

"Every year, we've been warning you about this, but it fell on deaf ears."

SAFETY ISSUES
Essex Supervisor Ronald Jackson, who is an emergency medical technician, said bridge closure adds at least 40 minutes of ambulance transport time to the trauma center at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.

He said federal emergency funding could be used to subsidize ferry crossings at Essex and Ticonderoga to keep boats running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as a measure of public safety.

COMMUTERS STUCK
Moriah resident Mike Denney sat in the gallery for the special meeting; he works at Goodrich in Vergennes, Vt., about a half hour north of the Crown Point bridge.

Denney said 105 Goodrich employees alone commute from New York to Vermont.

"We started brainstorming what we could do," he said after the meeting.

If a commuter bus could bring people from a central parking area to ride the ferries as foot passengers, it would save considerable cost.

Foot passage costs $2 a day round trip on the Ticonderoga Ferry and $6.25 a day on the Essex Ferry.

"But there is nothing on the Vermont side for shuttle," Denney said.

Goodrich management was meeting Monday to address the situation, he said, but the company and its commuting employees were caught unawares.

"This all happened so quickly."

Denney clocked the commute home Friday, going around the lake through Whitehall to Moriah, at 90.9 miles.

FUND RAIDED
Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward (R-Willsboro) addressed supervisors, asking them to gather facts and figures to account for fiscal impact to help push for federal emergency status.

"To blame (Department of Transportation) for the disrepair of this bridge and the condition it is in is wrong," she said.

Blame, she said, is "square in the feet" of the State Legislature.

DOT has one of the largest budgets in the state and is often where legislators go to raid funds.

"The only solution is a temporary bridge," Sayward said.

Obtaining state and federal emergency designation would remove red tape, releasing a quick response to the situation, said Crown Point Supervisor Dale French, who has a location planned for a temporary bridge south of the existing structure.

"The governors need to declare a state of emergency," Scozzafava said.

"The reason we don't have a bridge is they've been listening to special-interest groups. Special-interest groups are the working people now."

INCLINE CRACK
DOT Regional Engineer Michael Fayette gave supervisors a detailed description of what they found wrong with the bridge.

Water levels have dropped a foot since summer, and inspectors observed an incline crack on Pier 5 on the New York side.

An "incline crack is something that is at an angle, where the whole thing could go on a sheer," Fayette said.

When the Champlain Bridge was built 80 years ago, piers were made with nothing but concrete.

"This incline crack could go suddenly," Fayette said.

It would likely take other piers down with it.

Fayette said divers would observe pier foundations this week to see how or if they could be repaired.

He offered no time frame for reopening the bridge.

"I wish I could say. ... What I'm terrified of is, last Oct. 13, we plowed snow." This situation is a double whammy, Fayette said: "It's underwater."