Voters approve bond for bridge

Author: Kelly Janis

On March 4, the Town of Middlebury cleared the final significant hurdle standing between it and an effort to assuage the traffic congestion for which it is notorious when residents voted 1,535 to 673 in favor of authorizing a 30-year, $16-million bond issue to fund the construction of a new in-town bridge spanning Main Street and Court Street across Otter Creek.

Additionally, voters agreed 1,358 to 829 to request permission from the Vermont Legislature to amend the Town's charter so as to allow the Selectboard to levy a local tax option which will aid in funding approximately $7 million of the bridge's construction. The one percent tax - details of which are expected to be presented to residents for approval in mid-spring - will apply to sales, rooms, meals and alcoholic beverages, and be restricted in scope to the period in which raising funds for the venture is relevant.

The remainder of the project's costs will be absorbed by the College, which in November announced its agreement to make an annual donation of $600,000 to the undertaking in the 30 years subsequent to its completion, which Town officials believe may occur as early as the fall of 2010.

"We have been trying to work within the regular state and federal bridge construction system and, unfortunately, there are so many demands on that funding source that there is not enough money available for all of the projects that need to be done," said Town Manager Bill Finger in a Dec. 6, 2007 article in The Middlebury Campus.

"So what we were hearing from the state and federal governments was that it would probably be anywhere from 15 to 20 years before we could even begin to think about getting another bridge built," said Finger at the time. "The consensus of the town - and, apparently, the College, too - is that we really can't wait that long."

At a public informational hearing on the proposal held immediately following the March 3 town meeting, numerous residents expressed their enthusiasm in response to the project, which, in addition to the bridge situated at its crux - an innovation expected to provide a detour in the event of necessary repairs to nearby bridges and railroad overpasses and relieve stress on the 115-year-old Battell Bridge, across which an estimated 16,000 vehicles travel each day - entails the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and College Street, the conversion of part of College Street into a one-way road, the addition of a new connector street behind the Municipal Gym and the installation of a traffic light at its intersection with South Main Street.

"The timeline is ambitious," Selectman Dean George said. "It is our goal to keep this in perspective. We have not made any final decisions yet. But the Selectboard, along with the public … will be looking at this process. We have a very unique opportunity to make this more than 50-year-old project finally happen."

As evidence of the effort's lengthy history, George brandished a copy of the Vermont Department of Highways' 1955 "Middlebury village highway report" and recited a passage extolling the virtues of a bridge in the very location currently proposed to a round of laughter.

Residents echoed his excitement, while expressing high expectations for the bridge's execution. A paramount issue of concern broached in this vein is pedestrian safety.

"Pedestrian movement is particularly important to us," Selectboard Chair John Tenny said in response to several remarks about the necessity of easy foot and bicycle access to the bridge. "As we are faced with increasing costs of moving ourselves in our cars, our goal is to provide more opportunities for residents to not have to use them within our community. Hopefully this will encourage the development of some new businesses, so people won't have to travel outside of our town to shop."

Though widely supported, the project is not entirely without its critics.

Roger Desautels, for instance, took issue with an artist's rendering of the proposed roundabout which the Selectboard presented, questioning whether it was accurately positioned and proportioned. Officials conceded that minor adjustments to the plan may be necessary as the project advances, but assured residents that their scheme is feasible.

Encapsulating a pervasive attitude presiding over the hearing, resident Steve Myer marveled at a computer-animated simulation of traffic flowing in a steady, unobstructed stream through the roundabout and across the bridge.

"The first time I watched this, I was amazed," he said. "Watch those little cars. They just keep moving!"