BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Champlain Parkway project is entering its final stage. Community members, curious and concerned about construction, faced Burlington’s Department of Public Works today.
Abby O’Donnell lives in downtown Burlington and is worried for the safety of cyclists. After navigating construction on her street almost all summer, she’s seeing the final plans and is feeling frustrated.
“It’s a little too late in the process to make any changes. That’s how [these things are], they’re so long and drawn out,” said O’Donnell.
It’s a concern shared with many of the two dozen people in attendance at the Parkway Open House at the King Street Center in Burlington on Wednesday. They say construction is taking too long and disturbing daily life.
“I worry about my safety every time I cross the street,” said South End resident Lena Greenberg.
Officials explained that the project is entering a new phase: neighborhood restoration of Pine Street between Kilburn Street and Main Street and throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.
“New curbs, replacing the sidewalks, and then the big upgrade is the signalized intersections that are going in at Maple and King,” said Corey Mims, an engineer with the Burlington Department of Public Works.
The city is asking contractors to bid on the restoration project, and for the other part of the ‘final contract’, the connection between I-189 and the Champlain Parkway. They’re alerting the community of the next phase before the parkway is complete.
“It still has line striping that needs to be completed, some signal, signage that needs to be installed, and there’s some punch list items the contractor needs to complete in advance of it being capable to be taking of traffic,” said Mims.
Mims says in about a month, the parkway will be ready for a 30-day trial, the last step before it opens.
For now, neighbors will wait for the city to approve a contractor, arrange logistics, and hopefully start construction in the fall.
“I’m really excited for most of this project, though, again I’m not the most excited about the area closest to downtown, but, we’ll see,” said O’Donnell.
So until 2026, when the city expects the completion of the final phase, look out for detours on Pine Street.