The Champlain Bridge (also known as the Crown Point Bridge) was a vehicular bridge in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that traversed

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

between Crown Point,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Chimney Point Chimney Point is a peninsula in the town of Addison, Vermont, which juts into Lake Champlain forming a narrows. It is one of the earliest settled and most strategic sites in the Champlain Valley. For thousands of years, the locale was occupied by ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. It was opened to traffic in 1929 as a

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

; the tolls were removed in 1987. The bridge was closed due to safety concerns on October 16, 2009, and was taken down by

explosive demolition In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immedia ...

on December 28, 2009. It was replaced by a new bridge which opened on November 7, 2011. It was one of two bridges connecting New York and Vermont across Lake Champlain. Ferries provide connections between the states at other points along the lake. The bridge connected NY 185 in

to VT 17 in

. The half-mile, two-lane,

continuous truss bridge A continuous truss bridge is a truss bridge which extends without hinges or joints across three or more supports. A continuous truss bridge may use less material than a series of simple trusses because a continuous truss distributes live loads ...

was jointly owned and maintained by the

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in ...

and the

Vermont Agency of Transportation The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridges, sta ...

Description

The bridge crossed Lake Champlain at a point north of

Ticonderoga, New York Ticonderoga (, moh, Tekaniataró:ken) is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the Mohawk ''tekontaró:ken'', meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways". The Tow ...

, and south of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. It connected NY 185 in

Crown Point, New York Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, United States, located on the west shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 2,024 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, . The town is on ...

, to VT 17 in

Chimney Point, Vermont Chimney Point is a peninsula in the town of Addison, Vermont, which juts into Lake Champlain forming a narrows. It is one of the earliest settled and most strategic sites in the Champlain Valley. For thousands of years, the locale was occupied by ...

. It stood at one of only two bridge sites that link New York and Vermont across the lake. The other bridge is on U.S. Route 2, spanning between

Rouses Point, New York Rouses Point is a village in Clinton County, New York, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 2,209 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Jacques Rouse, a French Canadian soldier who fought alongside the Americans d ...

and

Alburgh, Vermont Alburgh (formerly Alburg) is a town in Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States, founded in 1781 by Ira Allen. The population was 2,106 at the 2020 United States Census. Alburgh is on the Alburgh Tongue, a peninsula extending from Canada into L ...

, near the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

History

Opening, repairs, and closure

The bridge opened to traffic on August 26, 1929. It was one of the first continuous truss road bridges built in the nation, and exhibited characteristics of both a through truss and deck truss design. The bridge was initially tolled; however, the tolls were removed on September 22, 1987. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1991. Work performed at that time included the replacement of the deck and railings, the repainting of the steel trusses, and the repairing of the bridge piers. In 2007, the

(NYSDOT) and the

(VTrans) announced formation of an advisory committee to plan the rehabilitation or replacement of the Champlain Bridge. At the time, the projected start date for the project was 2012. However, in 2009, an inspection performed on the bridge as part of the planning process revealed that two of the bridge's support piers were not structurally sound. As a result, the bridge was closed to all traffic on October 16, 2009. NYSDOT Regional Structural Engineer Thomas Hoffman commented that "Under certain conditions we were afraid the bridge could fail abruptly." Prior to the closing, the bridge had already been reduced to one lane for structural steel repairs.

Effects of the closure

The closure of the bridge caused economic hardship for commuters and local businesses as traffic was greatly reduced on both sides of the lake. Two businesses that saw more activity were private ferry services; one about south of the bridge was overwhelmed, while the other (about north of the bridge) expanded its hours of operation. Even with expanded hours, and New York state subsidies, the two private services could not meet demand. The state explored adding a ferry at the bridge location, and the

Basin Harbor Club Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

made its

tour boat A tour boat is a boat used, and frequently purpose-built or adapted, for boat tours, a type of tourism frequently offered in much visited towns and cities of historic interest, that have canals or a river running through it, or that lie on a co ...

available to ferry pedestrians. Since the lake freezes in winter, an

ice-breaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

would be required to keep the ferry services running. The Ticonderoga Ferry was forced to suspend service due to icy conditions from December 17 to December 20, 2009. On February 1, 2010, Lake Champlain Transportation started a new ferry service at the site of the demolished bridge, operating with two boats, departing each side of the crossing every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day as a free service subsidized by NYSDOT.

Demolition and replacement

New Crown Point Bridge under construction, August 2011

On November 9, 2009, officials in Vermont and New York announced that the bridge was beyond repair and would have to be demolished. Removal of the existing bridge was accomplished by

, and was originally scheduled for December 23, 2009. On December 22, officials moved the demolition date to December 28 as a result of the formation of ice on Lake Champlain and cold weather in the area; both factors led to delays in installing the necessary explosives for demolition. The bridge was demolished at 10:03 am on December 28, 2009. The bridge was replaced by a new structure, a Modified Network Tied Arch concept design. Flatiron Constructors of

Longmont, Colorado The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont ...

, the U.S. subsidiary of German firm

Hochtief AG Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Champlain Bridge (1929-2009) Bridges completed in 1929 Continuous truss bridges in the United States Demolished bridges in the United States Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) Landmarks in New York (state) Road bridges in New York (state) Road bridges in Vermont Demolished buildings and structures in New York (state) Former toll bridges in New York (state) Former toll bridges in Vermont Steel bridges in the United States Truss bridges in the United States Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States