Emortions Flare At Bridge Meeting

it was a joke!! these guys have there heads up there ass!! love how are politicians just sat up front backs turned to crowd and said nothing!!!

Scream all you want. There's no MONEY for your area. There going to take their time. You guys are nothing to them. Your not in Albany. Politicians don't care about Port Henry, Crown Point or Ticonderoga. It could take years before something happens. So, until then, you might just want to start thinking of alternatives. Get the names of those politicians holding you guys hostage and VOTE THEM OUT NEXT TIME FOR ELECTIONS!!!!!!

This shows you how F'd up this state is to let a bridge get to this point of being a safety hazard!Where were the state inspectors? As usual they are "re-active" instead of "pro-active" Do you really think they thought about the people who travel this bridge, F@^*@ no, they could care less about peoples lives and business that pay taxes and thier salaries!!!! The people of this state better start looking at who's in power and think thru who you vote into office or else there's going to be many more crippling issues like this one!!!!!! Read the article in the paper today.... the state has stolen the funds for this type of repair, where did the funds go?

we need our bridge back and a ferry service at the port henry dock for now!!!!

I think we should stage a protest in Albany, we should go right to the capital. Then we should drive our cars up and block the twin bridges. See how they'd like their travel route blocked. I'm willing to do this if others are!!
Vermont shouldn't be held accountable. NEW YORK is responsible for the care & maintenance of the bridge, that is why NY collected all the toll money over the years.

Start with the congressional election next week! Do NOT vote for ANY listed candidate - they're all the same - USELESS!

Vote for a write-in candidate! Easy to do whether machine or paper ballot!

Send a message that NO one backed by ANY Political Part has the proverbial snowball's chance of getting votes from ANYONE in the Eastern Essex County area!

Next organize a huge protes BY all the truckdrivers to occur in Albany, the State Capitol for New York City and home of the Governor's Mansion for the Governor of New York City! Encourage thousands of truckers and semis to appear during morning and evening rush-hours!

Lastly, form a group to see what can be done to annex Washington COunty, Essex County and Clinton County to the State of Vermont! That would MAKE this an all Vermont issue and not involve the do-nothing useless DOT officials as well as the politicians in Albany that are ONLY THERE to spend tax dollars on New York City!

BSBS wrote:

This shows you how F'd up this state is to let a bridge get to this point of being a safety hazard!Where were the state inspectors? As usual they are "re-active" instead of "pro-active" Do you really think they thought about the people who travel this bridge, F@^*@ no, they could care less about peoples lives and business that pay taxes and thier salaries!!!! The people of this state better start looking at who's in power and think thru who you vote into office or else there's going to be many more crippling issues like this one!!!!!! Read the article in the paper today.... the state has stolen the funds for this type of repair, where did the funds go?

the damage to the Champlain Bridge did NOT occur overnight as the politicians running for cover want you all to believe. The Champlain Bridge has been slowly falling apart for at least 20 years. In 1991, during it's last serious inspection, it was decided that the bridge was on borrowed time and that in 10 years (2001 for those not so good with numbers), something would have to be done about the pilings (the supports the bridge rests on), the expansion joints and the bearings that allow the bridge to move with a load. In fact, when the bridge was damaged in 2001 or 2002, engineers again were concerned with the decay on the superstructure (the part that is so picturesque)... But nothing was done about.
Here we are, an area that is mortally dependent upon a bridge that has fallen apart and a state that is so completely apathetic that most residents are ready to pick up a firearm and start hunting elected officials. And still, here were are, almost a month after the bridge was closed and not one tangible or credible idea has come across the table on how to deal with the problem of crossing Lake Champlain.
The free ferry idea was sound, if you work 8 to 5. What about the hundreds of people that work odd shifts? These people are having to drive 80-120 miles out of their way at 11, 12, 1 oclock at night to get home. Fuel costs have started to rise again and still, Albany basically has come up with NOTHING to assist people in this area.
As I said in other commentaries and threads about the Champlain Bridge, had this occured in New York City, Long Island or Albany, the problem would've been rectified IMMEDIATELY! But, because we do not represent a serious political, economic or social area, the north country is basically told to sit on its hands and wait. We may as well be our own goddamn state at this point and take it upon ourselves to hash something, ANYTHING, out to cross that lake. At the meeting at the school, the engineer stated that nothing could be done until spring 2010. Unacceptable. I am surprised that he made it out of the room with his life. 2010? That's an eternity away for commuters over that lake. And then to find out that the money that was in a general fund to maintain and repair roads in bridges in New York state was raided as a cash kitty for other things??? That's a bone to big and putrid to swallow. These downstate political bastards were gambling that nothing would happen to that bridge... what would've happened had that bridge collapsed and people lost their lives??? What then?
So, here we are...

At least the bridge is still nice to look at.
(groan)

ViperSnake wrote:

Start with the congressional election next week! Do NOT vote for ANY listed candidate - they're all the same - USELESS!
Vote for a write-in candidate! Easy to do whether machine or paper ballot!
Send a message that NO one backed by ANY Political Part has the proverbial snowball's chance of getting votes from ANYONE in the Eastern Essex County area!
Next organize a huge protes BY all the truckdrivers to occur in Albany, the State Capitol for New York City and home of the Governor's Mansion for the Governor of New York City! Encourage thousands of truckers and semis to appear during morning and evening rush-hours!
Lastly, form a group to see what can be done to annex Washington COunty, Essex County and Clinton County to the State of Vermont! That would MAKE this an all Vermont issue and not involve the do-nothing useless DOT officials as well as the politicians in Albany that are ONLY THERE to spend tax dollars on New York City!

I like your idea, but I counter with a larger one. Our area is overly regulated by downstaters with no stake in our futures. I suggest, in light of recent events and growing dissatisfaction with our government, that the Adirondack Park, majority of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Valleys secede from New York State and form our own state. Imagine a state without the ridiculous and unconstitutional yoke of New York state hanging around it's neck. Imagine what could be done here without the Adirondack Park Agency telling you what you can do with your own land? Imagine the economic prospects of just a little freedom.
I realize that this sounds perhaps a bit unAmerican, but I disagree. It is very American to disagree. It is very American to act and it is very American to throw out officials that have either not done their jobs with the needs of the people in mind, or have done their jobs with their own selfish interests as their guides. This incident with the Champlain Bridge illustrates how marginalized and inconsequential the Adirondack and northern New York resident has become. To the downstate elit, we are dirty-faced nuisance children running around a park that is too picturesque for our presence. I think it would send a message to those in Albany as to who has the real power. Strength is in numbers and when you have numbers, you have movement. When you have movement, you have power and when you have power, you can take back your own destinies... this may be a just a closed bridge and a forgotten area, but I see it as a chance to take back a regions' soul and identity.

e-mail a letter to Paterson, tell the idiots in N.Y.city what is going on upstate, i did,

redrum wrote:

e-mail a letter to Paterson, tell the idiots in N.Y.city what is going on upstate, i did,

unfortunately, in this political climate and especially with a political hack like Paterson, an email to your elected officials isn't going to cut it. As I stated in another thread concerning the situation with the Champlain Bridge, what would've happened HAD the bridge failed entailing loss of life (aka the Interstate bridge in Minnesota a couple of years ago)? How would that have been explained away?

One thing I would like clarified, and maybe this can be answered by residents older than myself, wasn't the channel under the bridge dredged every so often for barge traffic? If I remember right, barges were extinct some time after 1991 on Lake Champlain. And isn't there a swift, violent current that runs directly under the bridge? If so, couldn't this be the one 'x' factor that is leading to the deterioration and disintegration of the bridge footing/piling?

The state is going to build a temporary ferry site just south of the bridge, and that is a step in the right direction, BUT given the current state of New Yorks' bungled finances, I feel that the Champlain Bridge may be a thing of the past. The sense that I get from these meetings and the mood of the local and state politicians is that there just is no money available to repair or replace the bridge. We may be stuck with a ferry for the foreseable future.

f the ferry we want air transportation to and from work lets get an airport built where the deckers flat fields are. does anyone have an heavy equipment. just send the bill to the state of ny

heard the federal govt stepped in and said instead of repairs tear it down and build another bridge at the same site. seems logical not to waste all that money fixing something that will be torn down in 3 years, but thats probably a rumor!

it is spelled Emotions not (Emortions),

set up a canon from the revolutionary war to shoot people from one side of the lake to the other. That's the only way Albany will take this seriously.