The Lake Champlain Bridge is a vehicular bridge traversing

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

between Crown Point,

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

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 b ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. It replaced an older bridge that was demolished in 2009. The bridge was designed and constructed during an aggressive two-year schedule to minimize the social and economic impact of the original bridge's demolition.Zoli, Theodore, P.E. "A Bridge by the People, for the People", ''Civil Engineering Magazine'', June 2012. The American Society of Civil Engineers. It is the only fixed-link crossing of Lake Champlain/Champlain canal between US 4 in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, to the south and

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. ...

Rouses Point 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 du ...

, to the north. The main arch span was prefabricated off-site in Port Henry, floated by barge to the already-constructed approach spans, and then lifted into place on August 26, 2011. The completed bridge was originally scheduled to open on October 9, 2011, but this was pushed back around a month due to construction delays from underwater debris and record flooding. The bridge opened to the public on Monday, November 7, 2011, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Description

After state inspectors determined in October 2009 that the 80-year-old previous Champlain Bridge had deteriorated beyond repair, the states of New York and Vermont agreed to replace it. The new bridge employs a modified network tied arch design. Flatiron Constructors of

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

, the U.S. subsidiary of the German firm,

Hochtief AG Hochtief AG is a global provider of infrastructure technology and construction services, with locations in North America, Australia, and Europe. The Essen based company is primarily active in the fields of high tech, energy transition, and sustai ...

, won the contract for the new bridge, and groundbreaking took place on June 11, 2010. The bridge construction contract was for $69.6 million. It was completed six weeks ahead of schedule, but at a cost of $78.29 million.

Gallery

Image:Vermont State Route 17, Lake Champlain Bridge 3.jpg, View from the bridge deck during the ''"Grand Celebration"'' for the re-opening of the Lake Champlain Bridge on May 19, 2012. Image:ChamplainBridge CrownPt NY 20170721.jpg, View of Lake Champlain Bridge from Crown Point. Image:ChamplainBridgeVT NY 20150927.jpg, Aerial view of Lake Champlain Bridge connecting

Addison, Vermont Addison is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,365. History Addison was chartered on October 14, 1761. Benning Wentworth named the town Addison after poet Joseph Addison. Geography Ac ...

''(right)'' &

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 ...

''(left)''. Image:Lake Champlain Bridge - Chimney Point, VT (14936462523).jpg, View from below the Lake Champlain Bridge on the Vermont side on

. Image:Lakechamplainbridge.jpeg, The completed bridge, as seen from the Crown Point Light

References

External links

Lake Champlain Bridge project
— official

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation'' (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit sys ...

site *
New York State DOT Webcam monitoring progress every 15 minutes
*
New York State DOT construction details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Champlain Bridge (2011-present) Bridges completed in 2011 Landmarks in New York (state) Road bridges in New York (state) Road bridges in Vermont Tied arch bridges in the United States Network arch bridges