BRADFORD, Vt. (WCAX) – A busy stretch of Interstate 91 in the Upper Valley is set to reopen after being closed since spring. While most locals welcome the news, a handful of businesses will lose the temporary boost in detour traffic.
If you live on Route 5 in Fairlee, this year has been a bit of a headache.
“There’s just so much traffic,” said Kelly Chapman of Fairlee.
Crews have been removing ledge from the side of I-91 after a rock fall that occurred back in February. To do the work, 91 southbound has been closed in Bradford and Route 5 through Fairlee is the only other way south.
“The trucks that come through here, the 18-wheelers that are slamming on their jake brakes here at the house because they are going around the corner — people aren’t going the speed limit,” Chapman said. It was so much traffic that the town decided to cancel its annual 4th of July parade. “It takes my mom like 10 minutes just to cross the street in the morning because the traffic is so bad, to get her newspaper.”
But the congestion will ease once the interstate opens back up at the end of this week. Still, it’s not welcome news for everyone.
“It brought a lot more people into the store — which was great,” said Meagan Zubkoff with Chapman’s General Store. She says the detour brought new shoppers right before the busy holiday season. “It’s a little bittersweet for us. But like I said, hopefully, they will just return. They have been passing us for what, a year now almost?”
VTrans officials say more ledge work is needed and that they are still working on a plan to resume that work in the spring, which could include additional closures.