QUECHEE, Vt. -
The Quechee covered bridge was severely damaged after Irene but now 16 months later a new bridge is up and open to drivers.
Saturday morning at 10 AM the bridge was officially opened and plenty of pedestrians and drivers took advantage of it.
It was a gorgeous day for the bridge opening as snow fell over the new bridge and businesses nearby are hoping that it will help connect them with more customers.
"It's actually been very brisk, with the bridge opening this morning and with the snow coming down, people here to ski. So we've been pretty happy with it," Simon Pearce's head of retail Andy Archie said.
Saturday was a much different scene from August 28th, 2011 when the bridge was severely damaged after Irene and unusable.
" A ten minute walk became a fifteen minute drive," Scott Perrit said as he took his dog for a walk with his family.
"This makes it so much easier to just go back and forth from the village to Route 4," Michael Heffernan said.
He and his wife Lesley were using the bridge to get to the ski slopes and they think it will make it much easier for customers to get to stores like Simon Pearce.
"It's amazing and it's gonna be good for Simon Pearce and all the businesses here," Lesley Heffernan said.
But the bridge is not quite finished yet. Only half of it is covered. Miller construction won the opportunity to build the new bridge with a nearly two million dollar bid and the construction company will continue working on the site.
That could cause the bridge to close temporarily down the road but the half covered Quechee bridge is restoring a full dose of confidence for businesses on the river.
"The perception of having this bridge closed and the reality of it obviously affected a lot of businesses around here. we're just thrilled to have it back for many many reasons," Archie said.
*Video of the flooded Quechee covered bridge is from TheStonesInHD Youtube channel.
