Hi neighbors
I'm writing wearing my resident and business owner hat today: On Wednesday I received word that there's a new plan afoot by the Agency of Transportation to replace the failing bridge at the bottom of Route 14S in the summer or 2016 (yes, it's been delayed yet again).
There’s a hearing scheduled for Monday, June 2nd at 7:30PM at the U-32 cafeteria (the notice is on the town website http://eastmontpeliervt.org/june-2nd-vtrans-public-information-meeting/) that I hope lots of you will attend.
The new plan represents a huge departure from previous plans for the bridge replacement - in particular it specifies that the bridge (and access to Route 14 South) will be closed for the entirety of the construction, up to 75 days.
Making it all even more frustrating, none of the homes or businesses were notified in any way about the hearing and proposed closure directly: The only public outreach beside the postings was from the Town Administrator in his weekly listing of upcoming hearings and town business (Thank you, Bruce!). To my knowledge, no one from AOT has had any contact with the homes or businesses affected by the proposed closure.
I have a number of serious concerns about the closure that I’ve included in a letter that I sent to the AOT this morning, a copy of which is available here: http://rbtechvt.com/assets/Uploads/AOT-Letter-re-bridge-closing.pdf
A point that I didn’t make in my letter is that emergency response times to this side of town would be seriously impacted by having to use the alternate routes.
When the inevitable delays caused by whatever unforeseen circumstance come up (the archaeologically valuable artifacts found underneath the existing footings, or whatever), then without a temporary bridge in place those of us who live and work on the 'other' side of town would have to keep driving around the world to get across town.
I can't attend Monday’s meeting due to a previously schedule and immovable commitment, I hope you will all consider coming to the hearing on Monday and ensuring that your voices are heard; the AOT needs to hear in no uncertain terms that this is a bad plan with serious consequences for the businesses and families that rely on that intersection every day.
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Hadestown: Teen Edition at U-32 High SchoolJan 30, 2025, 7 to 9 PM