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LAKE PLACID - The state may take over the town of North Elba's Adirondack Loj Road - a five-mile secondary road that dead-ends deep in the Eastern High Peaks Wilderness at the Adirondack Mountain Club's base camp at Heart Lake.

Local politicians say the road is a critical recreational access point that the state should take full responsibility for, in part because of its interest in buying some or all of the Mountain club's property.

State Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, who is among the politicians leading the effort to transfer ownership, said negotiations to put the road in the hands of the state are linked to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's interest in buying a section of the Heart Lake property from the Mountain Club, something that has been discussed for years.

"The two are linked because the DEC has always wanted to put up an information center at the base of the Heart Lake property," Sayward said. "The state has an interest because that is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the state."

Sayward explained that the town of North Elba also owns a dirt road near Heart Lake called the South Meadow Road, which the state wants to close and replace with a parking area and visitor's center - all part of its unit management plan. Sayward said if North Elba were to consider closing the South Meadow Road, it might help facilitate a deal.

North Elba Supervisor Roby Politi said the town would discuss closing the road if the state were willing to not only replace a one-lane bridge, but own and maintain the road as well.

Another obstacle in the way of a deal is the state's fiscal predicament.

"My guess is, we'll see some chat about it in the budget process in December," Sayward said, adding that the DEC is negotiating with the state Department of Transportation to help the town of North Elba replace the bridge and improve the road, but she said, "Due to fiscal constraints, the DOT is not willing to assume 100 percent responsibility."

Local politicians are pursuing the state takeover because upkeep on the Adirondack Loj Road is likely to cost millions of dollars in the next few years.

The new bridge alone will likely cost about $1 million, and annual upkeep including paving, sanding, salting and plowing would cost hundreds of thousands more - all this for what is largely out-of-town traffic, according to Politi, who pointed out that only a handful of residents live beyond the bridge.

"I don't think there's any question," Politi said. "It's basically a road the town is maintaining for the state to use. Ninety percent of the users are from out of town. It's not fair for North Elba taxpayers to pay for that upkeep."Adirondack Mountain Club spokesman Paul Ertelt said the club's main concern is keeping the road open.

"We don't want the road to close," Ertelt said. "The Adirondack Mountain Club is important to the economics of the Adirondacks. We employ many local people; we pay taxes on the Heart Lake property - it's a significant generator of revenue. That road is extremely important to the town of North Elba. People come to the town looking for that road, and the end of that road is a destination. The draw is the High Peaks, Mount Marcy, this great wilderness area - that road is critical to it."

State Sen. Betty Little is also involved with discussions. She said the state may step in to repair the bridge and fix up the road, but leave the town as the owner.

"I have met with the commissioner of DEC, and we also had meetings with DOT at a regional level," Little said. "They have said the state will repair the bridge and take over the maintenance if the town continues to plow the road. The town would still own the road. This is not finalized, but they intend to work this out."

Contact George Earl at 891-2600 ext. 25 or gearl@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.