Work Begins on New Ferry Near Lake Champlain Bridge

ALBANY, NY (11/18/2009)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee today announced that construction has begun on a new vehicular ferry terminal just south of the existing Lake Champlain Bridge in Crown Point. The State's transportation and environmental agencies are working cooperatively in an effort to move the construction forward and to manage any environmental impacts throughout construction.

"We are hoping to get this ferry service up and running as soon as possible, and we are grateful to our sister agencies for working closely with us as construction begins on the approach roadway to the new ferry site," said Acting Commissioner Gee. "We will continue to work together to minimize the historical and environmental impacts even as we expedite the establishment of this much-needed new ferry service for the people of this region."

DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis added: "We are working closely with our State and Federal partners to ensure that this critically important ferry terminal is completed in as safe, expeditious and environmentally sensitive a manner as possible."

Project engineers have laid out the approach to the ferry terminal site on the New York side of the lake. Building access roads to the lake represents the first phase of the ferry project, which will be followed by in-lake construction of the docks. Design work for the ferry is ongoing and engineers are studying dredging techniques that will be used in the area of the proposed docks on the New York side. In addition, federal and state agencies have approved the removal of a limited amount of lake-bottom mud necessary for constructing the ferry slip at Crown Point. Soundings have shown that the water depth is sufficient for a ferry dock at the proposed site and soil samplings have been completed. Work at the site has not revealed substantial archeological findings.

Acting Commissioner Gee said the Vermont Agency of Transportation is moving forward in a similar manner to complete access work on its side of the lake.

"Governor Paterson has called for an urgent response to the closing of the Lake Champlain Bridge, and cooperation between Vermont and New York State and among our respective state agencies and federal counterparts has been smooth and efficient," Acting Commissioner Gee said. "We continue to make every effort expeditiously to address the consequences of the bridge closure and the impacts on and concerns raised by residents in both states resulting from this necessary action."

The Lake Champlain Bridge was closed for safety reasons on October 16. Since then, New York has worked in partnership with Vermont to provide transportation alternatives to the bridge, including free ferry service at two crossings north and south of the bridge and free bus service between the states. Over the weekend, the states reached an agreement that will allow the Ticonderoga ferry to continue operating as long as weather permits.