Letter Found In Local Paper To The Point

Tuesday, 11 December 2007

Dear Editor,
This week I had the unfortunate event of being stuck in traffic on the Sandbar on the way to work. It's a rather beautiful place to get stuck, with the snow falling on recently frozen ice. Steam rising off the open lake right through the falling snow up into the clouds. An occasional gull, crow or diving duck would cross over the bridge in flight. All except for the line of cars front and back as far as the eye could see.


It got me thinking again about the many traffic chokepoints throughout Route 2 in the Islands. Places where there is no way around, like the Sandbar, the Drawbridge, City Beach/Birdland, the NH-Alburgh bridge, the ILM-Alburgh bridge. Accidents and traffic in these places impede the ability of first responders to provide mutual aid to other towns, and ambulances in getting to Burlington. Besides that a great number of us work in Chitttenden County, and that Sandbar is the lifeblood of Grand Isle Counties economy.


A few weeks ago my concern about the drawbridge and lack of public information led me to draft a letter to the Governor. He forwarded it to the Transportation Secretary who in turn forwarded it to the Project Manager of the drawbridge who finally answered. I was surprised that the state had considered running a ferry while the bridge was being repaired. Even more so that they considered closing the bridge, the very heart of our county, for the duration of the repairs.


A new legislative session is upon us, let our representation know that transportation in the Champlain Islands needs to be at the top of their agendas. Too many decisions are being made that directly affect us, without any public involvement. That it was considered to even temporarily divide our county into north and south should be a wake up call. Complain, please! To Representatives Johnson and Trombley, and Senator Mazza who chairs transportation. The Governor, the Lt. Governor, the Transportation Secretary, your neighbor, the local selectboard, and anyone who'll listen. Obviously unless we make noise we'll just be forgotten and the State will do whatever it wants, without input from Islanders.



Best Regards,
Jason M. Brisson
North Hero, Vt.




Thank You Mr. Brisson for the permission to post this on the site. Hopefully it will help bring awareness to this obviously important issue!

Grand Isle Bridge Deemed Unsafe

The draw bridge connecting the town of Grand Isle to the town of North Hero has been deemed unsafe for two-way traffic. It has been made one way by use of traffic lights, and still continues to open for boat traffic. The drawbridge sits on US Route 2 and is the only gateway for sailboats to access the Inland Sea section of Lake Champlain.

This is more than an inconvenience for Grand Isle County, as Route 2 is the only north/south connecting road through the islands. Traffic bottlenecks have already been had, but the concern is the ability of the island communties emergency responders to cross during periods of high volume traffic. This is more than a hindrance for the two communities on one side, and three communities on the other who rely on the ability to provide mutual aid.

Word about town is that it will be four years before the bridge can be replaced. Studies need to be done, etc. The sad part is it was known that this bridge was in decline, long before the incident occurred to the west that caused all bridges to be checked. This bridge is so old the book "History of South Hero Island", shows a picture of it with an out house attached to the back. Deposits were quick and direct to the lake.

This is a serious issue facing an entire Vermont county, and needs to be at the forefront of everyone's minds. Four years is too long. There are several of these traffic choke points throughout US Route 2 as you travel through the Champlain Islands. This is the fastest growing county in the state of Vermont, it needs to be treated better than the bastard child of Chittenden County.

I implore any and all, if you see Governor Jim Douglas, ask about that drawbridge in Grand Isle? If you see Representatives Mitzi Johnson or Ira Trombley, ask what they are doing to get the drawbridge fixed? If you run across Senator Dick Mazza, ask him why his constituents have to travel every day over an unsafe bridge, when he is the Chair of the Senate Transportation committee?