New NY-VT bridge will cost $67 Million

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A report prepared for the New York Department of Transportation says the cost of replacing a now-closed bridge over Lake Champlain will be $67 million and take 22 months to build.

The assessment by HNTB New York Engineering and Architecture concluded that a short-term fix costing $22.9 million would have extended the bridge's life span by four or five years.

The bridge between Crown Point, N.Y., and Addison, Vt., was closed last month after it was deemed unsafe. The two states are now scrambling to plan for a replacement.

The Burlington Free Press quoted the report as saying a longer-term rehabilitation project could restore the bridge to service for 50 years, but it would cost more than $84 million and take 30 months to complete.

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