Senator Dilan Announces the Opening of New Champlain Bridge – Re-Connecting New York and Vermont

Martin Malavé Dilan

November 7, 2011

State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan (D-Brooklyn) today announced that the new Lake Champlain Bridge – connecting Crown Point, NY and Addison, VT – will open during a ceremony to be held at 2:30 pm.

“It has been a long two-years for the residents of this upstate New York region as they had to endure the loss of a bridge that serves as a lifeline for businesses and families alike.  Thank you to NYS DOT, Governor Cuomo as well as Governor Shumlin of Vermont for their efforts to get the bridge open as quickly as possible,” Senator Dilan said.

The original Champlain bridge was deemed unsafe for travel in October 2009 after an inspection revealed significant deterioration of the piers supporting the structure.  The bridge was then destroyed using a controlled explosion during a snowstorm in December 2009 and construction began in earnest on the new bridge in the Spring of 2010.  NYSDOT had originally proposed an October 2011 opening but significant flooding and other weather related delays forced the grand opening to be postponed until today.