This from the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street: “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.”

— M.C. Wallo

In the movie a young girl was urged to keep her faith in Santa Claus. Similarly, as another holiday season approaches with drivers still traversing the old Lagoon Pond drawbridge in Vineyard Haven, Islanders are being urged to keep their faith in MassHighway — faith that the state agency not only will complete the temporary bridge now underway on time and on budget, but that the temporary bridge won’t become a permanent one.

The plan calls for the temporary bridge to be completed in September of 2009, with the permanent bridge due to be completed sometime in 2013.

But against a backdrop of drastic state budget cuts in a badly slumping economy, faith is slipping in some quarters.

Funding for the permanent bridge has yet to be approved; only funding for the temporary bridge has been earmarked. The cost of the project continues to climb — early estimates for the temporary bridge were just over $4 million; the figure has now grown to over $9 million. And the cost of the permanent bridge? More than $24 million and climbing.

And research shows that MassHighway has a poor track record when it comes to completing bridge projects on time.

A plan to build a new bridge over Route 128 in Waltham was begun in January, 2005 with an expected completion date of November, 2007. Plagued by delays, the bridge is now set to be completed in 2010.

A new bridge is planned spanning the Fore River between Weymouth and Quincy. MassHighway installed a temporary bridge over the Fore River on Route 3A in 2003. At the time, state officials said the temporary bridge would be in place for five years until the permanent bridge was completed.

Last April MassHighway officials announced a new date for retiring the temporary bridge: 2020. More than 36,000 vehicles a day continue to use the temporary vertical-lift bridge, which spans a busy shipping channel and is similar in design to the temporary bridge planned for the Lagoon Pond.

Whenever an oil tanker or barge needs to pass by, the mid-section of the bridge raises straight up, halting traffic for at least 15 minutes or longer.

The delays have outraged people living in the area because of the unpleasant aesthetics of the double-leaf bascule design of the temporary bridge and traffic delays caused when the span is lifted to allow boat traffic to travel underneath.

Reached by telephone this week, David B. Oliva, chairman of the East Braintree Civic Association, said the temporary drawbridge has wreaked havoc in the community; he laid most of the blame on MassHighway.

“That thing is hideous. It looks like some horrible science experiment,” he said, referring to the temporary bridge. “The scary thing is we don’t know how long it will be there. At first they said five years, now they say 17 years . . . who knows how long we’ll be looking at that thing.”

He declined to speculate whether MassHighway was capable of meeting its deadline for the Lagoon Pond drawbridge replacement. But he said there is reason to be concerned.

“MassHighway isn’t known for meeting deadlines . . . they’ve gone back on their word before, it wouldn’t surprise me if it happened again,” he said.

An Internet search revealed dozens of other stories covered by mainstream newspapers.

• MassHighway drew the ire of residents of Tsyngsboro when a plan to replace a historic bridge spanning the Merrimack River became mired in delays. In 2005 work crews installed a 65-foot temporary bridge as a prelude to repairing the historic bridge, but the project was inadvertently dropped from a draft list of applications waiting for funding from the Transportation Improvement Program.

• A MassHighway project on Lee’s Bridge on Route 117 at the Lincoln-Concord Line irked town leaders and residents when the project experienced delays and cost overruns. The historic stone arch bridge, originally built in 1912, was closed in 1999 after a portion of the existing bridge deck failed. As an emergency measure, MassHighway installed a temporary bridge on top of the existing structure, but work on the main bridge was delayed for years. In 2003 a contractor hired by the state began work on the site, including the installation of a second temporary bridge next to the existing structure.

Tisbury selectman Tristan Israel has frequently raised concerns about the timetable for the drawbridge project and openly worries the Island may be stuck with the temporary drawbridge longer than planned. Mr. Israel said he never supported the two-bridge solution and he questions whether the current bridge could have been refurbished instead of being scrapped.

“I still don’t understand why they needed two bridges. I don’t think I ever will. They first said we needed a temporary bridge because they were worried about the safety of the [current] bridge . . . but here it is seven years later and that bridge is still standing,” Mr. Israel said, adding:

“I’m far from convinced we need two bridges to fix the problem. Couldn’t they have built a permanent bridge in the time it took just to start construction?

“When they first pitched this it was supposed to cost something like $15 million or $16 million. Now . . . as each year passes the cost of steel and labor goes up.”

Melinda Loberg, chairman of the drawbridge committee, said she understands why people mistrust the state bureaucracy, but she remains hopeful the project will be completed by 2013. Among other things, she said the temporary bridge has a short life span; a permit granted by U.S. Coast Guard for the bridge expires in 2013.

She also noted that Island officials really had no say in the two-bridge design; the project is being paid for with state and federal money. And she said there has been good news from MassHighway recently; project planners have lowered the bascule tower on the temporary bridge substantially, from around 70 feet to 30 feet.

Ms. Loberg said it was easy to doubt MassHighway, but she encouraged local officials and residents to have a little faith.

“You keep your fingers crossed and you keep the pressure on MassHighway to do the work right. You need faith everything will come out as planned,” she said.