Vermont

[D-Dey65]

I was just examining the St. Johnsbury area so I could expand the Vermont Route 2B section of the US 2 in Vermont article on Wikipedia, when I got distracted by the geographic anomalies of I-91 in the region. Something I noticed was that on US 5 there's a left-turn lane in the median for the southbound on-ramp, but not for the Comfort Inn & Suites Near Burke Mountain across from that ramp. There really should be left-turn lanes in both direction at that ramp.

[froggie]

Construction on I-91 and US 5 predated the hotel (which isn't really "near Burke Mountain") by a couple decades.  The "Taj Mahal" (as it's locally called by some) did not want to pay for a turn lane when it was built, and VTrans didn't force them.  But it's not really necessary...traffic volumes on US 5 are not that heavy.

[The Ghostbuster]

Is state highway 289 ever going to be extended in any direction, or will it remain as-is forever.

[froggie]

It will remain as-is.  The extensions were cancelled 4 years ago.

[shadyjay]

The traffic signal at the US 2/VT 100 South intersection on the south end of Waterbury (actually it's in Moretown) is still there.

What I did observe on Tuesday on I-91 South that was interesting was a mobile truck inspection checkpoint set up at the semi-closed parking area between Exit 1 and the Mass state line.  I say semi-closed parking area because you can pull in and out no problem but there are no breaks in the shoulder line.  There's an identical one on the NB side about 1/2 mile before the SB one.  It's the first time I've seen any weigh station/checkpoint open in a while in VT. 

[shadyjay]

Over the past couple days, made a trek down to the Albany/Troy area.  On the way back, I found this beauty still remaining - tried to get a pic of it but couldn't get the phone out in time....

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.599404,-73.262367,3a,72.8y,52.98h,93.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHflWJE864HkfNfbpHVrR8w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Then jumped on US 4 East towards Rutland, exiting at Exit 6...https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/24215318956/in/photostream/

And just down the road... https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/23613193594/in/photostream/

What's interesting about this sign is that the old shields on this overhead are holding up A LOT better than the 1994-era green oval shields.  You can see in this shot of Google Maps streetview how faded the sign is in 2012.  It's about 5x worse today.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6043176,-73.0137868,3a,36.8y,88.76h,79.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1snhiQwavJoWZQT_y2RjCQBQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[froggie]

VTDigger is reporting delays in completing the replacement I-91 bridges over the West River near Brattleboro.  What was originally planned as late 2015 is now looking like 2017.
http://vtdigger.org/2016/04/15/i-91-bridge-construction-further-delayed/

[shadyjay]

Drove through the I-89 sign replacement project (Hartford to Royalton) yesterday and today.  Outside of a couple new regulatory signs and the new small .05/mile markers, nothing substantial yet.  They're still working on the posts to support the new signs, SB, and NB, many still need to be installed.  I wonder of the I-89 junction will get exit tabs as part of this project.  Assuming the new signs will be in Clearview, it will mean the entire distance of I-89 in Vermont will be in Clearview, though it doesn't look bad on VT's signs.  What I did observe was the contractor is using u-turn signs to cover the holes where they drilled for the foundations for the new signs.  A couple were flipped over.

They still got a ways to go on the Brattleboro/West River bridge.  If they get the new bridge open this year, I'd be impressed.  The new span isn't even unified yet, still a good gap at the northern pier. 

New crossover in place just north of Exit 6 in Rockingham.  The SB lanes are closed and traffic diverted to the NB lanes.  A rock ledge fell either earlier this year or last year onto the SB lanes and I'm guessing this project is to shore up the ledge or blast it back some. 

[cl94]

They still got a ways to go on the Brattleboro/West River bridge.  If they get the new bridge open this year, I'd be impressed.  The new span isn't even unified yet, still a good gap at the northern pier. 

New crossover in place just north of Exit 6 in Rockingham.  The SB lanes are closed and traffic diverted to the NB lanes.  A rock ledge fell either earlier this year or last year onto the SB lanes and I'm guessing this project is to shore up the ledge or blast it back some.

Drove through the area today and noticed all of this. I was shocked at the state of the Brattleboro project.

I-89 at the Waterbury project is a bit interesting. SB is back on the SB bridge, but they're redoing the bridge for the NB exit ramp. Currently, the right lane NB is exit only and separated from the left lane by cones starting about 3/4 mile before the exit. Quite a bit of last-minute weaving when people saw the cones. NB exit ramp is on a temporary alignment with a very sharp curve that can be seen in the Google aerial.

[froggie]

Noticed on our way back from Bradley today that the replacement West River span will be a single bridge holding both directions instead of two separate bridge (one for each direction) like what previously existed.  Grading for the approaches on the north side is very apparent, and the completed segments of bridge certainly look wide enough.

[Dougtone]

Following a link I had come across from one of the roads groups on Facebook, there's a lot of historic transportation photos from Vermont out there at http://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape/se​arch/, including many road photos.

Some examples are as follows...
http://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape/asset_store/37/89/LS37892/LS37892_000_thumb_3.jpg
US 5 sign in Guilford
http://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape/as​set_store/15/57/LS15573/LS15573_0​00_thumb_3.jpg
Burlington distance sign on miles and kilometers
http://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape/as​set_store/61/08/LS61082/LS61082_0​00_thumb_3.jpg
Artist rendering of I-189/US 7 interchange in South Burlington as a trumpet.
http://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape/asset_store/42/01/LS42017/LS42017_000_thumb_3.jpg
I-91 and VT 9, Brattleboro

[KEVIN_224]

I'm bugged out by that last link from Brattleboro! (BTW, only the 1st and 4th links are working for me.) Is that shot from the north of today's Exit 3 rotary? That looks a bit like Wantastiquet Mountain in the background. That'd be a bit to the left heading south, since it's on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River.

[shadyjay]

US 5 north of the Exit 3 rotary makes perfect sense, heading south.  The Jct VT 9 and the Jct 91 to the right makes perfect sense if that's the location. 

[KEVIN_224]

It looks like it could be the area north of the rotary, where the Motel 6 (I've stayed at twice) is.

https://goo.gl/maps/7etbtWz1aQv

[Mergingtraffic]

anybody know where any old state-named interstate shields left around the state? I'd to get some pics.

[cl94]

anybody know where any old state-named interstate shields left around the state? I'd to get some pics.

First one that comes to mind is I-91 SB immediately south of I-89. Check the state name shield thread for a few more.

[KEVIN_224]

White River Junction, at the eastern end of Sykes Mountain Avenue. Took this picture on July 13, 2016.

https://goo.gl/maps/dferEQMaqK52

That eastern edge of Sykes was a bitch to walk up. Pretty steep and quite narrow until you're up the hill!

[shadyjay]

Just a couple hours ago, I drove through the Hartford-Royalton (I-89) sign replacement project.  A bunch of new signs up, in both directions.  Looks like the new signage for BGSs is in Clearview, which means I-89 will be Clearview from end-to-end in Vermont. 

Other notes, SB:
Exit 2 changes:  VT 132 gets a green circle shield, and the control points are now Sharon AND Strafford. 
Exit 1 changes:  Quechee is gone from the BGSs... only Woodstock is listed.  Quechee denoted to a secondary sign, along with Killington.
91 Jct:  signage remained status-quo for the most part vs the old signage.  The gore gets a small I-91 sign, like how NH signs their interstate-interstate jcts.  The final overhead BGS hasn't been replaced yet.

Observed NB (in the rear view):
Crews were working on putting up signs near Exit 2.
Welcome Center now says "REST AREA/VERMONT WELCOME CENTER".
Exit 1 signage keeps US 4/Woodstock/Rutland.
No overhead gantries for I-91 jct replaced yet.

Further update early next week, along with pics.  With these changes, the only old-style circle state shields left on an interstate in VT are on I-91 at Exit 7.

[KEVIN_224]

This gantry is on US Route 5 South in White River Junction. I was walking over from the Greyhound bus agency behind me on Sykes Mountain Avenue. Just out of frame was a small secondary sign on I-91 which (I believe) said "Woodstock/Rutland - THIS EXIT".

I also noticed the US Route 4 bridge over the Connecticut River into West Lebanon, NH is brand new. My shot north up the Connecticut River from the middle shows no sign of the previous bridge being there:

[shadyjay]

I really hate that gantry on US 5.  I don't know if its the all-caps "St Johnsbury" or the center arrow on the middle sign, or the arrow on the US 5 sign, but it's GOT TO GO!!!  On another note, the bridges which carry I-91 over US 5 in this image were the ones that were replaced over the course of a weekend via the slide-in method.

The US 4 bridge was deemed unsafe and a temporary bridge went up, I believe immediately south of the old bridge.  Then the old bridge was removed and a new one built in its place, with the temporary bridge then being removed.

[KEVIN_224]

They sure didn't look old at all. As I walked under them on Thursday morning, walking from the Super 8 motel, towards the Greyhound agency on Sykes Mountain Avenue:



This was on the inside of the southbound I-91 bridge, front left side if driving south:



As for the US Route 4 bridge over the Connecticut River, the last Google Street View available was September 2012. It does NOT look anything like this now!
https://goo.gl/maps/54MBA1gGn7t

[froggie]

Only took them about 5 years to get that replacement US 4 bridge done.  The temporary bridge was up for far too long.

[froggie]

Can't make this stuff up.  The photos especially are comic.

http://www.wcax.com/story/32562969/police-say-vermont-crash-prompted-by-gps-order-to-turn

[cl94]

Can't make this stuff up.  The photos especially are comic.

http://www.wcax.com/story/32562969/police-say-vermont-crash-prompted-by-gps-order-to-turn

You can't fix stupid.

[7/8]

Can't make this stuff up.  The photos especially are comic.

http://www.wcax.com/story/32562969/police-say-vermont-crash-prompted-by-gps-order-to-turn

Wow, how fast was she going during her planned "U-turn"?

The article title reminds of The Office, when Michael Scott drives his car into the lake