South Burlington, VT -
The Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced that beginning May 12 they will limit Interstate 89 northbound between Richmond and Williston to one lane so crews can eliminate a significant dip that has developed in the roadway along French Hill. The lane closure is expected to last until Memorial Day, which is May 26.
Crews will work around the clock to repair the road so that two lanes can be reestablished as quickly as possible, but until then motorists should expect delays, especially during peak morning and afternoon commute times. The heaviest backups are expected in the morning. Commuters are encouraged to adjust their travel plans, while emergency services should take note that they may want to plan alternate routes.
We are hoping you all will reach out to your staff via your own internal email networks and share this information as we want to let everyone know well in advance that they should expect significant delays. Just how far traffic will back up is hard to predict, but this is one of the most heavily traveled sections of roadway in Vermont so travelers should prepare to be significantly delayed.
Complicating matters is the fact that these repairs must be made on a significant uphill grade. Large trucks, once forced to stop on French Hill, will not be able to move very quickly until after they clear the work zone.
Those responsible for the routes of emergency vehicles should specifically take note as once traffic backs up there will be little chance that an emergency vehicle will be able to navigate through the cue.
VTrans is encouraging commuters to seek alternate routes or, if they cannot, adjust their traveling schedule to leave early and allow plenty of time to reach their destination. We also encourage local businesses to work with their employees to allow for flexible travel schedules – or telecommuting – whenever possible.
To help motorists manage their travel time, VTrans will install a state-of-the-art information technology package that uses both Internet and electronic roadside message boards that provided real-time information about the length of delays.
The message boards will be placed along the Interstate south of French Hill and before Exit 11, as well as along Route 2 at Exit 11 so motorists know the time delay before getting onto the Interstate. Motorists can also check the length of the delay before getting in their vehicles by going to http://www.511i89.com/.
Work crews beginning May 12 will close one lane of traffic and work around the clock to repair enough of the dip to reopen two lanes of traffic by Memorial Day. Once reopened to two lanes, the speed limit along this section of I-89 will be reduced until crews complete repairs a few weeks later.
Eliminating the dip on French Hill is the beginning of a larger construction project that includes paving 13 miles of I-89 northbound from Richmond to Colchester, and paving an additional 4.1 miles of I-89 southbound between Colchester and South Burlington. All paving will be done at night, so lane restrictions related to paving are not expected to cause significant delays. The paving work is expected to last into October.
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