Hoffman commented that "Under certain conditions we were afraid the bridge could fail abruptly." Prior to the closing, the bridge had already been reduced to one lane for structural steel repairs. Effects of the closure The closure of the bridge caused economic hardship for commuters and local businesses as traffic was greatly reduced on both sides of the lake. Two businesses that saw more activity were private ferry services; one about south of the bridge was overwhelmed, while the other (about north of the bridge) expanded its hours of operation. Even with expanded hours, and New York state subsidies, the two private services could not meet demand. The state explored adding a ferry at the bridge location, and the Basin Harbor Club made its tour boat available to ferry pedestrians. Since the lake freezes in winter, an ice-breaker would be required to keep the ferry services running. The Ticonderoga Ferry was forced to suspend service due to icy conditions from December 17 to December 20, 2009. On February 1, 2010, Lake Champlain Transportation started a new ferry service at the site of the demolished bridge, operating with two boats, departing each side of the crossing every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day as a free service subsidized by NYSDOT. Demolition and replacement On November 9, 2009, officials in Vermont and New York announced that the bridge was beyond repair and would have to be demolished. Removal of the existing bridge was accomplished by explosive demolition, and was originally scheduled for December 23, 2009. On December 22, officials moved the demolition date to December 28 as a result of the formation of ice on Lake Champlain and cold weather in the area; both factors led to delays in installing the necessary explosives for demolition. The bridge was demolished at 10:03 am on December 28, 2009. The bridge was replaced by a new structure, a Modified Network Tied Arch concept design. Flatiron Constructors of Longmont, Colorado, the U.S. subsidiary of German firm Hochtief AG, won the contract for the new bridge, and groundbreaking took place on June 11, 2010. The replacement bridge opened to traffic on November 7, 2011. See also List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) References External links Bridges completed in 1929 Continuous truss bridges in the United States Demolished bridges in the United States Historic American Engineering Record in New York