Lawmakers want to reconsider expensive bike bridge
By Nancy Remsen Free Press Staff Writer
MONTPELIER -- Three lawmakers want to hold off on construction of a bicycle bridge over the Winooski River until the Legislature reconsiders the expense.
The cost of the bridge, which would connect Burlington and Colchester, has more than doubled since the Legislature approved $1.4 million for the project in the spring. The price tag is now $3.2 million.
The three House members took their concerns about the jump in cost to the Vermont Transportation Board on Wednesday. Rep. George Schiavone, R-Shelburne, presented the board with a letter also signed by Rep. Michael Obuchowski, D-Bellows Falls, and Rep. Robert Helm, R-Castleton, that asked that the board to freeze the project and allow the Legislature to reconsider it.
"If they allow this to go, I intend to blow it up to high heaven," Schiavone warned after the meeting. He, Obuchowski and Helm had helped negotiate the transportation capital bill that included funding for the bridge.
The board took testimony, but made no decision, according to Samuel Lewis, deputy director of project development at the Agency of Transportation.
The agency is in the midst of soliciting bids for the bridge with the goal of beginning construction this winter. Lewis said the state wouldn't award a contract or begin construction without board approval.
Lewis explained the new, higher costs for the project.
The height of the bridge was raised from 12 feet above the water level to 18 feet after consultation with the U.S. Coast Guard. That cost an extra $220,000.
The center span of the bridge would include a cantilevered overlook where people could fish or look at the view without creating a hazard for bike traffic. That would cost $80,000.
The original plan hadn't included $355,000 for work on the approaches to the bridge and a section of pathway between the bridge and a1,651-foot elevated boardwalk through Delta Park on the Colchester side.
Also, planners switched the kind of planking on the boardwalk, from pressure-treated wood to concrete, to reduce long-term maintenance. That added $800,000.
Finally, the new estimate allows $345,000 more for construction costs because the builders will face many constraints as they work. Construction is only allowed in the winter months to protect turtles, beetles and some plants, and the work space in some areas is restricted to the width of the path -- 12 feet.
Lawmakers aren't the only ones having second thoughts about the project.
Richard Bowler of Burlington lives near where the bridge would be built. He and his wife operate a small marina east of where the bridge would cross the Winooski River.
"I would like to see a bridge built," Bowler said, "but not under the terms it has gotten to today." He worries that the current design won't accommodate tall-masted boats. He would like to see the state take more time to develop better plans.
Bowler also said the state can't afford the bridge in these uncertain economic times. The state would pay the biggest share of the $3.2 million cost -- $1.196 million. The federal government would pay $1.12 million. Burlington and Colchester each would provide $60,000.
Bowler said, "I think it would be wrong to be putting this kind of money into a bike bridge."
Contact Nancy Remsen at 229-9141 or nremsen@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
