WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-County Officials Ask State of Emergency be Declared After Bridge Closure

County Officials Ask State of Emergency be Declared After Bridge Closure

Crown Point, New York. - October 19, 2009

     Bill Buell has been crossing the Crown Point Bridge for 13 years, commuting from his home in New York to his job at IBM in Essex Junction. Vermont.
     "My hour-and-a-half commute is now three hours one way," he said. "So it's a six-hour commute every day I have to go to work." On top of his twelve-hour shift on IBM's manufacturing line, his work day is now stretched to eighteen hours.
     Stories like Buell's prompted the Essex County Board of Supervisors to hold a special meeting Monday morning. They passed a resolution asking the governors of New York and Vermont to declare a state of emergency, which could loosen red tape and free up funding to get an alternative in place.
     "We have been saying for years to the state of New York, listen, you need to have a contingency plan in place," said Tom Scozzafava, a member of the Board of Supervisors from Moriah. "I think everyone knew this day was eventually going to happen. And unfortunately there's no emergency plan in place."
     County officials say four thousand drivers were crossing this bridge every day -- many for work, some for medical care. Closing the bridge is unacceptable.
     "The ferries have been offering some help," Scozzafava said, "but they're certainly not the long-term solution. We need a temporary bridge across that lake as soon as possible."
     Members of the Board of Supervisors met with state officials behind closed doors Monday afternoon to talk about their concerns and proposals for an alternate link across the lake.
     "I do not believe at this point that any potential solution has been discounted at all," said John Gibb, director of the New York State Emergency Management Office. He said engineers are assessing the damage to the bridge and considering all the options, including a temporary span like a pontoon bridge.
     "That is one of the things we're looking at," Gibb said. "Typically we've used temporary bridges in other disasters, but there's issues in terms of how wide a span they can bridge. But we have the best experts in the state looking at that."
     County officials say they want to get the matter resolved quickly, and assigning blame won't solve the problem.
     "Pointing fingers never seems to do any good," said Cathy Moses, chair of the Essex County Board of Supervisors. "I think the thing to say to the Department of Transportation is, 'Please work with us as quickly as possible to get this resolved.'"
     But some people who depend on the bridge say they're frustrated neither the state nor the county acted sooner.
     "They did nothing. Absolutely nothing," Bill Buell said. "Every politician, every elected official, every person attached to everything that goes on on that bridge should be fired. I'm sorry, but they dropped the ball. They dropped the ball here."
     Vermont officials and businesses affected by the closure will meet Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. at the Bridge Restaurant in West Addison.

Kate Duffy -- WCAX News