College propels Cross Street Bridge project

Author: Kelly Janis

Middlebury is hard at work to continue to bridge the divide between the College and the town - this time, quite literally.

In a campus-wide e-mail issued on Nov. 29, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz announced the College's commitment to donate $18 million to the town of Middlebury in the form of annual $600,000 installments over 30 years, beginning in early 2011. The funds will permit the town to borrow the $9 million necessary for the construction of a bridge spanning Otter Creek from Cross Street to Main Street at its intersection with College Street.

"This gift is a response to a request from the town and it reflects the College's desire to be involved in a project that is integral to the safety of students, faculty, staff and area residents, and to the betterment of the town," Liebowitz wrote in the e-mail. "I am pleased that the College is able to support this important project."

In an interview, Chair of the Middlebury Select Board John Tenny said he was thrilled to secure the contribution, which he described as "a gift without strings or reservations."

"I don't feel that it's their obligation to do this," said Middlebury Chief of Police Thomas Hanley. "They could invest that money somewhere else, I suppose. But they're stepping up and saying, hey, look, we've got a problem. We are members of this community - critical members - and we're going to do our part to resolve an issue here, which is going to be for the betterment of the greater good."

The undertaking will alter the face of downtown, calling for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and College Street, the conversion of part of College Street into a one-way road, the addition of a new connector street behind the Municipal Gym and the installation of a traffic light at its intersection with South Main Street.

The project will require the acquisition and removal of Steele's Service Garage, whose Main Street location rests in the swath of the proposed bridge.

According to Jane Steele - the garage's office manager, and wife of owner Paul Steele - the business has been officially approached by the town for this purpose.

"We're in negotiations now," she said. "[The town] wants to eliminate any eminent domain factors, which ties it up for years and is also excruciatingly costly."

The Steeles expect the garage to remain in operation during the construction of the roundabout, and have permission to convert a garage they own in Frog Hollow into a service station, if they so choose.

Despite doing business in the same location since 1968, Paul was not particularly sentimental at the prospect of closing up shop. "I'll be crying all the way to the bank," he said.

Jane Steele believes the project would not have gotten off the ground had it not been for the College's support. "This is the closest they have come to the reality of doing it," she said.

The concept of the bridge has been widely discussed since the 1950s, and was approved by Middlebury residents by a wide margin at the 2006 town meeting. Nonetheless, roadblocks to its construction have continually existed.

"The big obstacle was there was not the possibility that you could support this project through local property taxes," Tenny said.

"We have been trying to work within the regular state and federal bridge construction system and, unfortunately, there are so many demands on that funding source that there is not enough money available for all of the projects that need to be done," said Town Manager Bill Finger. "So what we were hearing from the state and federal governments was that it would probably be anywhere from 15 to 20 years before we could even begin to think about getting another bridge built. The consensus of the town - and, apparently, the College, too - is that we really can't wait that long."

According to Liebowitz, the formal request for financial support was issued early last summer, during one of the president's monthly lunch meetings with the Middlebury Board of Selectmen. Although the Board of Trustees does not meet between May and October, members were made aware of the measure prior to the Oct. 6 meeting at which it was officially discussed and approved.

Liebowitz said that the partnership at hand differs from the College's recent affiliations with the Town Hall Theater and acquisition of the former Eat Good Food space in that it is not intended to draw more students into town, but is based instead on an overarching strategy to work with the town on projects that are of mutual interest and benefit to both town and College. He described the ensuing connection between the two entities as one hinging on mutual support.

"We benefit from a healthy town and the town benefits from a healthy College," Liebowitz said.

"It's a collaborative effort," Hanley said. "And we like to see collaborative efforts. Because when things are collaborated on, it's less of a burden to all involved."

Officials predict that the bridge will be pivotal in assuaging traffic congestion - no doubt a key point of concern to anyone who has ventured onto the streets of downtown Middlebury as either a motorist or pedestrian.

"By estimates of the engineers, we will have a more direct flow in and around town," Tenny said. He believes that this phenomenon will, in turn, render a positive impact on quality of life in general. "We think downtown will work better and downtown will [be] better as a result."

"I think it will be hugely beneficial," said Executive Director of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce Andrew T. Mayer. "It will be the oil for the engine that hasn't been running so well because of being gummed up by traffic."

Though Mayer had not yet had an opportunity to discuss the construction of the bridge with local business owners, he was certain they would respond favorably. "I know that they're going to be thrilled," Mayer said. "I don't have any doubt about that."

Mayer likened driving in Middlebury as it now stands to playing a video game like Grand Theft Auto. "I just came from Pheonix, where the traffic is crazy in different ways, and I survived that," he said. "And then I came here, and within two months, I got hit by a milk truck in downtown Middlebury."

Hanley characterized the scene downtown on a typical morning at rush hour as "a parking lot."

"You want traffic to be flowing all the time, and once one car stops in heavy traffic, it just piles up and piles up and piles up, because your outlets are clogged," Hanley said.

Contrary to what he perceived as popular belief, Hanley said most traffic issues are internal.

"Most of the traffic downtown tends to be mostly local traffic," he said. "People think if we build a bypass, there won't be a traffic problem anymore. But the fact of the matter is, the bulk of the traffic downtown is circulation traffic, people coming from one end of town to the other and going back again."

Still, Mayer worries about the image of the town impressed upon those who are just passing through. "We want to make Middlebury a destination," he said. "We would like to have traffic to a place because it wants to be there. Traffic because it can't get through or get where it's trying to go - that's a different deal. That doesn't help us become a destination."

Also fostering Middlebury's ability to achieve "destination" status is the possibility of developing land behind Ilsley Library. Though discussions have not yet moved beyond the conceptual phase, an indoor parking structure, retail and office space and several units of housing may all be feasible prospects.

"There's a lot that can happen there, but none of it is fully planned or designed at this point," Finger said. "But we do know there's potential back there. And I think once the bridge is built and the traffic pattern c
hanges, that potential will be realized."

The bridge also harnesses the potential to provide a detour in the event of necessary repairs to nearby bridges and railroad overpasses - many of which, Finger said, are in dire need of repair. Officials also believe the new bridge will relieve stress on the 115-year-old Battell Bridge, across which an estimated 16,000 vehicles travel each day.

"You're funneling everything onto this choke point on Battell Bridge, and that creates havoc," Hanley said. "When you have 88,000-pound trucks rumbling over a stone bridge, it tends to shake. And vibrations are the curse for these bridges."

The ease of travel will be similarly beneficial on a College-specific scale. Liebowitz cited the Oct. 22 derailment of a freight train in downtown Middlebury as an illustration of the necessity of having greater access to the downtown area.

"With the fire station being on the other side of Otter Creek, we saw how important it is to have multiple access routes into and out of town," he said. "Emergency vehicles would certainly have a hard time reaching the College now if there was an emergency with only one bridge, and if that single bridge were to be disabled or become impassable."

"Having just one crossing of a river is just not a good idea for traffic management," Hanley said. "It's not good for safety. If we lose that bridge, we can't get to the College. We would have to go up to New Haven and around."

Hanley described the inability of emergency vehicles to negotiate Battell Bridge as a "perpetual problem," citing several occasions on which fires or severe accidents have disabled travel across it.

"Not too many years ago, we had a fire at the Rainbow Room which shut down the Main Street bridge for quite a while, so we had no way to get heavy equipment up to the west side of the bridge," Hanley said. "The fire trucks were tied up, the bridge was blocked, so nothing was moving."

Even when the bridge is functioning, traffic can be precarious on account of the structure's narrow design. "If you've ever been down there when an ambulance is trying to get through, it's an adventure," Hanley said.

The Cross Street bridge project is only one juncture of what promises to be a larger effort.

"It will never solve the whole problem," Hanley said, "because we have a problem with too many cars and not enough roads."

"There really is a need for more than one new bridge," Finger said. "We should have a new bridge north of town and a new bridge south of town and another bridge in the center of town. But if we can get one at a time, we're doing quite well."

The project will proceed once Middlebury residents negotiate the details of engineering, design, acquisition of the necessary property and bonding for additional funds at next year's town meeting. "We'd expect that construction would start in 2009 and take a little less than two years to complete," Tenny said.

Meanwhile, officials resolve to keep residents afoot of the progress. "There will be other hearings and forums and informational meetings so people will know as much as they can know," Finger said.

Liebowitz expressed hope that the College community will share his enthusiasm toward the project. "I definitely see this in a positive light, and I hope it is met with approval," he said.

By all measures, it has been.

"Two thumbs up," said Topher Wearn '08, explaining that such a bridge would cut five minutes off of his walk to work at the Mary Johnson Children's Center. "It's illogical not to have a bridge there."

Nick Welch '08 also expressed approval. As part of an architectural planning course this past Winter Term, Welch and his classmates drafted a design for a bridge in the location in question, producing sketches and 3-D models of the surrounding area. The project solidified Welch's belief in the benefit of such a development, especially in spurring a more active social life and alleviating traffic. While he suspected that the sum of money being expended may compel some students to be weary of the College's involvement, Welch concurred with Liebowitz's optimistic perspective.

"I really think it will help the scene downtown a lot," he said.

Additional reporting by Anthony Adragna and Zamir Ahmed.