Champlain Bridge Update

It was November of 2009 when the Champlain Bridge was suddenly closed for good due to structural weaknesses in the bridge supports. One year later the bridge is gone; destroyed in a controlled explosion last December. Debris from the original bridge has been removed from the lake, and construction has begun on a new bridge with an anticipated completion date of September 2011. According to the New York State DOT website, since early November, the construction  activities at the site have focused on installing the bridge substructures, with work at all 7 piers and both abutments well underway. Fabrication of the steel bridge members is also progressing at a steel fabrication plant in Pennsylvania. The new bridge is being built by Flatiron Construction, a transportation construction and civil engineering firm based in Colorado. In the meantime, a ferry runs 24 hours per day transporting vehicles over the narrow stretch of Lake Champlain the bridge once traversed.