CROWN POINT -- The state Department of Transportation will hold three public meetings on Saturday as it works to expedite the process of destroying the Lake Champlain Bridge and planning the construction of a new bridge.
The meetings are meant to get public feedback on the plans for a replacement bridge and on how to commemorate the historic bridge, which will be destroyed with explosives.
The three meetings will be held at LaChute Hall at 132 Montcalm St. in Ticonderoga at 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The bidding process to contract with a demolition company to implode the bridge started Tuesday. Deborah Sturm Rausch, a Transportation Department spokeswoman, said AED was the finalist and a contract will be confirmed on Thursday.
AED, Advanced Explosive Demolition Inc., is based in Post Falls, Idaho. The company holds the world record for the largest building to ever be successfully imploded - the Sears merchandise warehouse, a 2,720,000-square-foot building in Philadelphia, Pa., according to the company's Web site.
Calls made to AED on Wednesday were not returned by deadline.
Rausch said preparations for the implosion have begun.
"There's not a date set in mind for the implosion yet. We will be sure to notify everyone in advance so everyone who wants to view the implosion can do so from a safe distance," she said.
Before a demolition date can be set, Rausch said, a number of things need to be done.
"Permits need to be obtained, all sorts of things need to happen before this can come down," she said.
At the public meetings on Saturday, Rausch said, the public can view drawings of what a new bridge could look like.
"It's so the public can see them and add their input," she said, adding that the state wants the new construction to follow the environmental needs and sensitivities of the area.
Before the meetings on Saturday, the Public Advisory Committee on the bridge will meet at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Middlebury, Vt., at the Ilsley Public Library at 75 Main St. The public can attend.
For more information about the Lake Champlain Bridge, log onto www.nysdot.gov/lakechamplainbridge.
Posted in Local, Lake_champlain_bridge on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 8:25 pm Updated: 3:44 pm.
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