BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Changes are coming to a busy intersection between Burlington and Winooski.
“I go over this bridge probably just about as much as anyone who uses it… I’m pretty excited about this project,” said New North End resident Jim McFadden.
Jim McFadden loves hanging out with his two grandkids, but to get to them from his house in the new north end, he needs to cross the Winooski-Burlington bridge.
“It’s very old, it’s very corroded, deteriorating. We’ve had to resurface it many times over the past 20-30 years,” said McFadden.
So when he heard that he could get an inside look at the project in an open house in Burlington, he and many others hustled on over.
“The last time we communicated publicly with them was last January. We just wanted to come out tonight and really inform people in a more intimate one-on-one setting and hear their feedback about the project,” said VTrans Consultant John Olend.
The almost 100-year-old bridge needs serious upgrades, so Burlington and Winooski decided to replace it along with the intersections that preceded it. Olend, who says the feds will fund 80% of the project, found the choice simple.
“The biggest goals of the project are to bring the bridge up to current standards and really maximize bicyclist and pedestrian safety and space on the bridge,” said Olend.
Community members weighed in on aesthetic preferences and learned about potential traffic impacts. Transit times may double during summers of construction.
The next step for the project is to find a contractor. They expect to break ground in late 2027.