News stories tagged with "crown-point-bridge"

(11/08/11) A crisis that disrupted tourism, farming and family ties along the Champlain Valley came to an end yesterday, as officials from New York and Vermont cut the ribbon for the new Crown Point bridge.

The $70 million structure re-establishes the link from Crown Point to Addison, Vermont. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries, by hundreds of local residents, and by a group of "29ers."

They're the folks who were also on hand in 1929 when the first bridge was unveiled. Martha Foley has more.

(11/08/11) As we've been hearing, yesterday's ceremony is part of the long history of the Lake Champlain bridge and the deep connection between communities on both sides of the border.

Brian Mann has been following this story since the old span was declared unsafe in 2009. He has this look back at how the crisis affected the Champlain Valley and how it has united communities on both sides of the lake.

(11/07/11) Two years after a team of demolition experts blasted the historic Crown Point bridge into pieces, the new span is set to reopen to traffic this afternoon.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin will attend the ceremony at 2:30, as will Lt. Governor Robert Duffy.

Construction of the bridge continued year-round, despite harsh winter conditions, flooding, and the state's budget crisis, which derailed or delayed other transportation projects.

In a statement, Governor Andrew Cuomo called today's ribbon cutting "great news" for the Champlain Valley.

Brian Mann will be live in Crown Point through the day today. He spoke live with Martha Foley during the 8 O'clock Hour. He'll have more, live and with Nora Flaherty on All Before Five.

(04/08/11) New York's Transportation Department is spending millions of dollars of extra money, trying to finish the Lake Champlain Bridge by the October 9th deadline.

The old bridge was closed in 2009 and eventually demolished because of safety concerns.

At a briefing last night in Addison, Vermont, DOT officials said efforts to build the new bridge as fast as possible have been complicated by wintry weather and by debris on the lake bottom.

Still, as Brian Mann reports, community leaders and local businesses are praising the state for scrambling to finish the project on time. more

(05/12/10) The budget crisis in Albany is threatening to bring state construction projects to a standstill. But New York's Department of Transportation says the effort to rebuild the Lake Champlain bridge at Crown Point is still on track. With eighty percent of the funding coming from the Federal government, the project appears to be insulated from most of the chaos in the state capital. But as Brian Mann reports, many local residents still worry that the bridge could be delayed.

(03/31/10) All construction projects relying on money from New York State are now on hold. It's another repercussion of the state's late budget, and the looming $9-billion budget deficit.

NPR reports the Ft. Drum connector highway is among the hundreds of affected projects. It's unclear if work on the Crown Point Bridge will go ahead as scheduled. The state Dept of Transportation did not return NCPR's phone calls yesterday.

Paterson administration officials said all projects not paid entirely with federal economic stimulus funds will be delayed until the Legislature and the governor agree on a budget. The Governor's order also tells contractors on existing projects the state won't pay for any work after the start of the new fiscal year Thursday. The order exempts projects planned to address so-called "emergency health and safety needs" as certified by the Division of Budget.

The governor also announced a second delay in state school aid payments due today. Karen DeWitt has that story from Albany.

(01/28/10) Governor David Paterson was in the North Country yesterday, announcing that a new, temporary ferry will begin serving Crown Point and Addison Vermont as early as this weekend. The Lake Champlain bridge closed in mid-October after inspectors founds the concrete pilings were disintegrating. As Brian Mann reports, residents and business-owners in the Champlain Valley see the new ferry as another big step toward returning their lives to normal.

(01/28/10) Gov. David Paterson has been taking heat in Albany - for his tough proposed budget, for his sagging poll numbers - and this week he's been out and about elsewhere in the state, defending both his budget and his pledge to run for governor this year, despite all.

On Lake Champlain yesterday to announce the opening of the temporary ferry between Crown Point and Addison, Vermont, he faced a barrage of questions and criticism for his plan to close the Moriah shock prison camp. The closure is part of his effort to reduce a multi-billion dollar budget gap in the coming fiscal year.
Brian Mann spoke with Martha Foley about the local concerns, and the governor's responses.

(12/29/09) The Crown Point bridge across Lake Champlain was demolished yesterday morning, just after ten o'clock. The span had served as a major link between Vermont and upstate New York for eight decades. It became a part of the North Country landscape and lore. Deterioration of the bridge and its closure in mid-October have crippled the Champlain Valley economy, straining ties between communities on both sides of the lake. As Brian Mann reports, many local people hope that yesterday's massive explosion marks a first step toward getting their lives back to normal.

(12/14/09) State officials say a new bridge across Lake Champlain between Crown Point, NY and Addison, VT will be open to traffic in the summer of 2011. That's at least a year (and likely several years) sooner than previously predicted. The new schedule follows a transportation crisis that began in mid-October when the Crown Point bridge was abruptly closed because of safety concerns. Engineers still say the aging structure is fragile and could topple at any times. Brian Mann has our story.