Lake Champlain Bridge Emergency Replacement Project

Abstract

The Lake Champlain Bridge, also known as the Crown Point Bridge, was a historic steel truss bridge stretching 2,187 ft across Lake Champlain and connecting the rural communities of Crown Point, New York, and Chimney Point, Vermont. It opened in 1929 with then New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Since then, the bridge has served as a vital economic link between communities, which share hospitals and fire departments, as well as a link to the past. But by 2009, the bridge had reached 80 years of service life, and a study was conducted to determine the need for possible major rehabilitation or replacement. Together with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, FHWA, and the HNTB Corporation design team, the New York State Department of Transportation used emergency standby contracts and an accelerated design–bid–build process to develop a plan to demolish the original truss bridge in little more than 2 months, construct a temporary ferry service, and design and erect a new signature crossing in little more than 2 years. The new Lake Champlain Bridge opened November 7, 2011, by using a dynamic design–bid–build process that could become a model for the nation.