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The
Northern Segment, officially known as the Bennington NH
019-1(5) project begins at the US Route 7 systems
interchange and proceeds southeasterly for approximately 3
miles to an interchange with Vermont Route 9, just east of
downtown Bennington. This segment, in combination with the
Western Segment, will constitute the bypass for Vermont
Route 9 in the area.
Construction of the first contract of the Northern Segment
began in July 2007 and will span several years. A second
contract was awarded in April 2008 with completion
scheduled for 2010.
Another
contract was advertised for bids
in April 2009 and awarded shortly thereafter. This
contract has a scheduled completion date of fall 2011. A
final contract is scheduled to begin in, 2010.
Work for the Northern Segment includes the construction of
a new two-lane highway, six new bridges, four of which are
approximately 470 feet long, a new pedestrian overpass, a
hiker underpass to access Bald Mountain and the
Appalachian/Long Trail corridor, the reconstruction of the
existing systems interchange, and the construction of the
northern half of a new single-point diamond interchange
with Vermont Route 9. Three major power transmission
lines, each over 7,500 feet in length, were relocated in
2007 as part of this project.
As part
of this project, a significant amount of rock was removed
from Exit 2 on US Route 7. This has been a safety concern
for the Agency that was resolved through this effort. Rock
excavated from the site is being utilized in various forms
on the Northern Segment. The removal work is complete and
the northbound ramps have been re-opened for use by the
traveling public. Also as part of this project, a
significant amount of earth will need to be excavated and
removed (wasted) from the alignment of the Northern
Segment. Finding a location in the Bennington area to
accept such a large quantity of material proved to be a
challenge from environmental and cost perspectives. The
Southern Segment highway alignment was identified as being
both large enough to accept the additional earth and the
highway profile of the proposed Southern Segment dictated
that additional material would be needed to build the
roadway to its desired elevation. As a result, the excess
earthen material is being moved to sites along the future
Southern Segment alignment and placed as engineered fills.
This will be a cost saving measure for both the Northern
and Southern Segments.
Another interesting aspect of the Northern Segment is the
identification of potential locations for a southwestern
Vermont welcome center. In 1999, the Vermont Legislature
instructed the Vermont Agency of Transportation to develop
the site design of a possible
welcome center
in Bennington at the systems interchange of Routes US 7
and VT 279. This investigation is
complete, its conclusions accepted by Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) and the welcome center is
expected to be built
by the Office of
Buildings and General Services (BGS) in conjunction
with the construction of the Northern Segment of the
Bypass.
For more
information contact:
James
Harris
Project Manager
123 Phyllis Lane
Bennington, VT 05201
Phone: (802) 447- 6425
Fax: (802) 447-2713
E-mail:
James.Harris@state.vt.us |
