A crisis in North Country transportation

This morning’s NCPR newscast offers a fascinating snapshot of the North Country’s regional transportation woes.

Two vital regional bridges are at the point of collapse — the Crown Point bridge on Lake Champlain is already closed and the Batchellerville bridge over Great Sacandaga Reservoir is likely not far behind.

The St. Lawrence Seaway’s traffic load is down 30%.

A massive drop in fuel sales at the Lake Clear airport means local residents in Harrietstown will have to subsidize the airport there with a 13% property tax levy increase.

Looming in the background? Debates over the future of the “rooftop highway” and improvements to the crucial border crossings into Canada.

What do you think? Will the Federal stimulus start answering some of these questions? Does the state (and maybe local officials) need to allocate more dollars for infrastructure and fewer dollars for job and social service programs?

Is there a danger that our already remote region will see even fewer transportation options in the future?

Tags: adirondacks