Hikers' Bridge Will Go Ahead as Planned
by Ben Hogwood

The Green Mountain Club and Johnson Town officials have cleared up
previous issues regarding the Long Trail hiking bridge, which will go
over the Lamoille, and the bridge will go ahead as planned, said GMC
director Ben Rose.
The Johnson Selectboard discussed the hikers' bridge at a meeting last
week, raising concerns that the bridge might be going ahead without
adhering to Act 250 regulations. The GMC had also dropped off a pile of
gravel near where the trail leading to the bridge was being developed.
The pile, which the selectboard thought may have been for a proposed
parking area, had been placed on the town's right of way.
Rose said, first, the positioning of the gravel was a mistake. The
people who delivered the gravel - which is for the trail leading to the
bridge and not for a parking area - were trying to be helpful by placing
it closer to the trail. They did not realize it was on the town's right
of way, he said. The pile has since been moved.
Rose said the club knew full well about the two Act 250 conditions
regarding the speed in the area and the layout of the parking area, and
has not overstepped any boundaries.
GMC must meet with the town to discuss the expansion of the existing
five vehicle pull-off on the Hogback Road. The problem, he said, has
been with arranging a time to meet with Road Foreman Stephen Smith. This
is the first step in the process, said Rose. "Steve is a very busy man,"
he added.
The speed limit on the Hogback Road, like every town highway in Johnson,
is 50 miles per hour. The Lamoille County Sheriff's Department
previously determined that the speed limit should be reduced in the area
where hikers will be going over the road, from the parking area to the
trail. While the GMC said it would be willing to approach the town about
a speed reduction, it is not mandatory that the speed limit be reduced,
said Rose. Last week, Johnson Town and Village Administrator Duncan
Hastings said that considering the amount of work the town would have to
undergo to reduce the speed limit, it is unlikely the club would be able
to get that reduction. The club will ask the town for permission to put
signs up, warning drivers of the crossing. If the speed limit isn't
reduced, the club can still build the bridge, said Rose.
The full design for the crossing includes two bridges, Rose said, one to
an island in the Lamoille and the other spanning the river to its
southern bank. The club is only focusing on that first bridge for now,
as there are only a handful of days during the year when the water would
be high enough that a bridge would be needed for the second crossing.
Rose said the club is hoping to have that primary bridge completed by
the end of the summer, having its grand opening in the spring of 2005.
Rose wants to see the bridge completed soon as the Town of Johnson is
quickly growing and developing. "There are less green spots on the map,"
he said, adding that connecting the trail would only get harder in the
future.
The GMC began discussion of the bridge in 1993, primarily for safety
concerns. Currently, hikers on the Long Trail must walk down the Hogback
Road and up Route 15, approximately 1.5 miles, to get across the
Lamoille River. "The current situation is really unsafe," said Rose.
With hikers coming out of the town with full packs, sometimes three
abreast, and vehicles travelling along the twisting Hogback Road,
hikers' lives are in danger. "It's a recipe for disaster," he said.
This site, located near Ithiel Falls, is the best location as the
crossing would be above the 500 year flood plain. Rose does not believe
the pedestrian traffic will be so heavy as to affect fishing on the river.
While estimates from engineers price the bridge at approximately
$250,000, Rose said construction will most likely cost around $100,000,
as the bridge will only need to support a load of hikers and not
vehicles, which the engineers included in their estimate.
"We are going forward," said Rose on the bridge. "It's not a question of
if, it's a question of when and how."