Cross Street Bridge construction begins

Author: Elizabeth Scarinci

After more than 50 years of debating, lobbying and voting, the town of Middlebury broke ground on April 14 on construction of the Cross Street Bridge. The bridge will run over Otter Creek and connect Main Street to Court Street in the center of town. The project will cost $16 million, $9 million of which will come from the College.

The project will consist of the bridge's construction and construction on the surrounding streets, including a roundabout in the center of town. According to project manager John Walsh of Kubricky Construction, the bridge will be open by October 2010.

"We will be working all year on the sub-structure, then we will do the roadwork next year," he said. "It is definitely feasible to open the bridge by 2010."

The new bridge will provide an alternative route for emergency vehicles in the event that the currently existing bridge, Battell Bridge, is closed. The bridge will also act as an alternative walking route, provide direct access for downtown parking and relieve congestion of the area, according to Fred Dunnington, zoning administrator for the town and secretary of the Development Review Board.

"It is about supporting the economic vitality of downtown, because it provides direct access to downtown amenities," Dunnington said.

The opening of the bridge will also allow the town to repair the Battell Bridge, built in 1892, according to Robert Keren, director of Internal Communications at the College.

The town has discussed building a second bridge for more than 50 years, since the Three Mile Bridge burned down in 1952. The Three Mile Bridge crossed the creek about a mile away from the College. Since the bridge burned down, there has been no alternate route for emergency vehicles to cross the creek to get to the hospital, the College or the center of town.

The town has agreed that there is a need for the second bridge, but has debated the location of the new bridge. The town held the first of a series of votes in the 1980s, but could not agree on a location.

Dunnington insists that the current location is a more viable choice than replacing the old Three Mile Bridge.

"Placing the bridge where the Three Mile Bridge was would take several times longer to build and would have a greater cost and greater environmental impacts," he said.

Bruce Paquin, a Weybridge resident, is unhappy with the placement of the new bridge.

"They could have built the bridge to connect to the hospital, which would have made more sense," Paquin said. "They chose the path of least resistance."

The College will pay the Town of Middlebury $600,000 a year for 30 years for the bridge's construction. Once the College pays interest on the bonds, a total of $9 million will go towards the bridge. The $600,000 each year is in addition to the College's annual gift payment to the town, which hovers at around $200,000 a year.

Keren emphasized the importance of the link between the College and town.

"More important than the length of time that the College is making this commitment is the realization on the President's part that the vitality of the town and the vitality of the College are linked together," Keren said.

Keren said administrators see the bridge as economically important for downtown Middlebury and the relationship between the College and the town.

"We are in recessionary times, but the College and the town were founded together 200 years ago, and President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz will not turn his back on the town when clearly there is a need for this bridge," Keren said.