Part of a stone foundation discovered next to one of the old Champlain Bridge pillars could be from a small French fort built in 1731.

The foundation is about a foot and a half from the side of a pillar on the Vermont shore, but archeologists don’t know if it’s from the fort or an early house.

The Champlain Bridge closed Oct. 16, 2009, and was destroyed by controlled explosives Dec. 28. A new bridge is scheduled to be constructed nearby starting this spring.

Vermont Agency of Transportation Director of Planning, Outreach and Community Affairs John Zicconi said details aren’t known yet, but some exploration will be done at the foundation site to understand it better.

The foundation is about a foot below the surface of the ground and was discovered during an archeological site review before construction of temporary ferry docks for the new Crown Point Ferry.