FRANCONIA NOTCH — This fall after the foliage season ends, the state’s iconic Franconia Notch State Park tramway will be retired and work will begin on a third one.
Skiers and riders will be without tramway access to the summit of Cannon Mountain for the two years, possibly three seasons and the state will be without a major tourism draw as a replacement is built.
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Sarah Stewart, commissioner of the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, said Monday she is hopeful that the work will only take two ski seasons.
She told Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the state’s Executive Council her department is working with the Department of Transportation to determine whether towers and other infrastructure can continue to be used which could help save the project money.
The first time the project went out to bid in 2023 it only garnered one bid which was for more money than the state anticipated and it was rejected.
There is $27 million for the new tramway set aside by the legislature.
Former Gov. Chris Sununu, whose family holds controlling interest in Waterville Valley ski area, also floated the idea of replacing it with a gondola but there was a lot of pushback from the public noting the height of the tramway gives occupants a more dramatic view of Franconia Notch State Park and can handle more people.
“She’s aged gracefully, but like all legends, she deserves a dignified retirement,” said Jace Wirth, General Manager of Cannon Mountain and Franconia Notch State Park. “It’s time to begin writing the next chapter.”
The 70-passenger aerial tramway, (80 passengers in summer) has been in service for 45 years and cost $5 million to build.
In recent years it has only been used on weekends and holiday periods during the winter months.
On Feb. 14, 2016, the tramway stopped operating in extremely cold conditions and occupants had to be lowered to the ground by ropes, without injury. Since then it has been operating without incident.
The first tramway was smaller and built in 1938. It was the first in North America. It was retired in 1978.
Since 1980, the current tram has carried more than nine million passengers to the 4,080-foot summit, covering a one-mile span in under seven minutes.
“Following the 85th anniversary of the original tram’s installation in 2023 and the 45th anniversary of the current system’s commissioning in June, Cannon’s management team plans to wind down public operations after this fall as part of the transition to a next-generation system,” a press release issued Monday reads.
Wirth said “while we know the transition will bring change, it’s also an opportunity to honor the legacy of the tram while ensuring we move forward with purpose.”
Access to the summit will require skiers and riders to take two chairlifts starting next season.
In an April 2024 letter to lawmakers, the commissioner said while the legislature had set aside $18 million for a new tramway, it was likely not enough and that she intended to include an additional $15 million in her capital budget request for 2026 and 2027 and go with a design-bid-build plan which may be more cost effective and may attract more bidders than design-build.
In a letter to then state Rep. now State Senator Mark McConkey, R-Freedom, who at the time was chairman of the House Public Works and Highways Committee and member of the Capital Project Overview Committee, Stewart explained her new approach to the matter and called it a “top priority” for state parks.
“A situation in which the tram was no longer part of our state parks enterprise system would have severe impacts on the state park fund which is how we manage to maintain a park system that is operationally self-funded,” she wrote.
In fact, the current Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, with its red and yellow cars affectionately nicknamed “ketchup” and “mustard” by its riders is a cash cow that helps float the park system.
In the winter it has a more utilitarian use but in spring-through-fall it is a tourist attraction in the White Mountains region drawing over 100,000 visitors annually and generating $1.8 million in revenue, she wrote in 2024.
Stewart noted that adjusted for inflation the current tram would cost about $20 million today to build.
The system components are showing fatigue, wear, and corrosion, she wrote.
“We work closely with the State Tram Board, our mechanic team, and the lift service provider Doppelmayr to ensure its safety, as that is our top priority,” Stewart stressed.
In 2022, the department included $15.7 million in its Capital Budget request for replacing the Tramway and also included a request for $3 million for tramway lodge renovations as a separate priority to address interior and exterior work to the summit and base lodges of the tram including upgrades to fire and sprinkler systems and other life safety improvements.
Neither of those requests was funded.
In the 2023 legislative session, SB 55-FN-A, relative to making an appropriation of $25 million from FY 2023 surplus for the replacement and repair of the Tramway was introduced.
She said the DNCR supported the bill and using more current estimates in coordination with the Division of Public Works, the DNCR felt that level of funding would be sufficient.
The state legislature authorized $18 million on June 30, 2023, in the state budget for maintenance and operation of the Tramway.
Working with the Division of Public Works, DNCR issued a Request for Bids on Oct. 23, 2023, for a Design-Build project to replace the Tramway with new state of the art equipment.
“Bidders were reluctant to commit to the terms of the Design-Build project. Only one bid was received for $33.3 million which was $29,035,000 for the tram base bid and $4,266,500 for an additional alternative for paint repairs to the steel structures at the base and summit terminals,” she wrote.
With a significant gap in funding, that bid was rejected.