The Chittenden County Circumferential Highway, known locally as “the Circ,”   was conceived thirty years ago as a 15.8 mile long, limited access, two lane-two way highway with climbing lanes constructed on four lane right-of-way.  Its purpose was to intercept and redistribute traffic among the arterial routes serving the Burlington area from the north and east; promoting efficient use of existing radial highway capacity.  In 1982, Congress established the project with $50 million in demonstration funds.  The project became the responsibility of the State of Vermont when the Legislature accepted the highway as part of the State Highway system in 1986.

Plans for the proposed highway divided the road into ten sections, Segments A-J. Environmental review and highway location planning was completed with the publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement in August 1986.  Initial design of the entire highway was completed and right-of-way was acquired between and including the Interstate 89 interchanges in Williston and Colchester.

The section in Essex (Segments C, D, E, and F) has been completed.  In October 1993, the Susie Wilson Road relocation and about 4 miles of highway between VT Routes 117 and 2A in Essex, opened to traffic as Vermont Route 289. Landscaping contracts for those sections of highway were completed in the fall of 1995, as well as a wetland mitigation construction project. 

After litigation on the adequacy of the EIS and its 2003 Re-Evaluation, VTrans decided to undertake new environmental studies on the remaining portions of the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway.  The improvements in Williston and Colchester are separate projects subject to their own environmental review.  The Circ-Williston EIS will look at a broad range of alternatives including the previous design for Circ Segments A-B in Williston, which would run from a new interchange with I-89 in Williston to the Circ’s existing interchange with Vermont Route 117 in Essex.  The future Circ-Colchester study will similarly consider Circ Segments G-J from the northern end of Route 289 to Route 127 in Colchester, with an interchange at I-89.

On November 26, 2004 the Federal Highway Administration published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on Circ-Williston, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) began the new environmental studies.  Although alternatives for this project are not limited to the previous CCCH design, the previous design for Sections A-B of the Circ Highway is an alternative under consideration. The environmental studies for Circ-Williston will result in a new draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in early 2006.  New studies of Circ-Colchester have not yet begun.