Nothing has caused more angst and torment for the people of the southern Champlain Valley lately than the closing of the Champlain Bridge between Crown Point and Addison, Vt.
Suddenly, thousands of daily travelers, many of them working in one state or the other, had to find another way to get across Lake Champlain.
The bridge has been deemed dangerous and irreparable, and the process to build a new bridge has started.
The state first suggested a two-hour road detour through Whitehall, then told people to take the Essex and Ticonderoga ferries to get to Vermont.
When people complained that it cost more than $500 a month to take a ferry to work every day, the state agreed to pick up the tab, and the ferries are now free.
Finally, the State Department of Transportation said it would fund a 24-hour ferry next to the bridge. That new, free ferry was promised for the beginning of December.
But, so far, as of mid week, all we've seen are some surveying flags and archeological teams checking for historic artifacts. No heavy equipment has been brought in, no materials are being stockpiled — nothing.
The issue here is that the independent Ticonderoga Ferry has become the main transportation route to Vermont, since it comes out in Shoreham, with easy access to Middlebury. But this is a cable ferry with an open deck.
As the owners of the Ticonderoga Ferry will tell you, any icing of the cable, the deck or the access ramps could be disastrous. The weather has cooperated so far, but it is mid-November, and everything is bound to change.
If the Ticonderoga Ferry stops running and the new ferry is not in place, the alternatives add substantial time and distance to the drive.
Lake Champlain Transportation, which operates the Essex Ferry, has promised to bring an icebreaker ferry in to use at the bridge. But if there are no docks and no access roads, all of which must be built first, there will be no ferry.
The state says it has applied for necessary permits to run a ferry at the bridge and is fast-tracking the process.
Many people have suggested that, since a declared state of emergency exists for the Champlain Bridge, work should commence right away on the ferry infrastructure. The permits can be granted retroactively.
The state needs to pick up the pace. Officials can say the bridge deteriorated far too quickly to detect, but they must at least concede that the residents, left to deal with this stunning development, deserve the best and quickest solution possible. For once, let's suspend the red tape and do what's right. Get that ferry operating at the bridge.
Now.
Opinion
EDITORIAL: Accelerate ferry progress
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Cheers and Jeers: May 28, 2012
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In My Opinion: A new focus for mental well-being
