Gov. Ayotte’s budget includes $15 million to do something for the iconic Cannon Mountain aerial tramway, which state officials have wanted to upgrade for years.

Whether that is enough remains a big question.

The aerial tramway opened in 1938, three years after the state legislature first approved the idea without providing any funding, in typical New Hampshire government fashion. It runs 2.3 miles between Echo Lake and Cannon Mountain’s peak except when crosswinds are high enough to cause the cabins to bang against one of the three towers.

Rides to the top cost 60 cents that first year. Today, round-trip tickets cost $25 for adults.

The original cars, which held 27 people, were replaced in 1980 with the current model, which can hold 80 people. Made by Italian firm NuovaAguidio, the replacement cars cost about $5 million, according to news reports.

With that system nearing the end of its life, there has been public discussion for at least five years about the need to replace or upgrade it.

In 2021, the Monitor reported that replacing the entire tramway would cost between $24 million and $32 million, depending on how much work was done. The existing base station can fit larger cars carrying up to 100 people.

In 2023, the state sought bids to replace the tramway, but the only bid was $33 million and no action was taken. Ayotte’s budget proposes sending out new bids of a different type — design-bid-build rather than design-build — to make it more attractive.

Her proposed budget includes $15 million for the tramway and $4 million for upgrades to the tram’s lodges.

Although the tram is thought of as a skier’s alternative to chilly chairlifts, it makes far more trips and far more income in the summer, when tens of thousands of people ride it to get a 360-degree view of four states and bits of Quebec.

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com