Learn about the Vergennes Bypass

VERGENNES BYPASS SURVEY

Help VTrans and the ACRPC explore options for reducing the impacts of truck traffic on VT 22A (Main Street) in Downtown Vergennes and better understand the issues that are important to you.

Transportation solutions being evaluated include new roadways, improvements to existing roadways, and an option where traffic flow does not change. Potentially affected municipalities include Ferrisburgh, Vergennes, Waltham, Weybridge, Panton, Addison and New Haven. 

Please take a few minutes to fill out the Vergennes PEL Study Public Survey by clicking here or following the link below. And please share it with your friends and neighbors!

Concept Screening
Thirteen concepts were considered within a long list of concepts. These concepts were screened using criteria based on the Purpose and Need and goals. Based on the initial screening in the fall, seven concepts were dismissed for not meeting the purpose and need. A secondary screening was conducted in the winter for the concepts that met the Purpose and Need during the initial screening. Based on the study team’s recommendation and confirmed by the Technical Committee on March 1, the blue/pink routes, orange route, purple route, and green route will move forward for further study. The red route will be eliminated. A map depicting each route and summary of the secondary screening are below. 

The study team met with the Policy Committee on April 3 to discuss the results of the secondary screening. The presentation, recording and meeting notes are on the Vergennes PEL Study website: https://vergennespel.com/committees.  Please note that the written summary of the meeting is divided into two pieces – the meeting “minutes” per Open Meeting Law with key actions, and then the longer meeting “summary” which contains more detailed information about everything that was discussed.  Both documents will be part of the record.

A final version of the Alternatives Development and Concept Screening Technical Memorandum is available on the study website.

Next Steps
The study team is progressing on the next tasks to further develop and evaluate the concepts recommended for further study. We will be in touch with additional public engagement efforts in the summer.

Community Liaison
To support the outreach efforts of the Vergennes PEL Study, we have added a community liaison to our team – Jim Gish. Jim’s job in essence is designed to ensure two things:

1. That all community members fully understand the goals and process of the PEL Study; and
2. That all community voices are heard by the Study team.

By “community,” we mean those who live, work and travel through Panton, Waltham, Addison, New Haven, and Ferrisburgh as well as Vergennes.

Jim has lived in Addison County for 25 years and helped pioneer the role of Community Liaison in state transportation projects when he served from 2016 to 2021 as Community Liaison for the Middlebury Bridge & Rail Project. 

As he did in Middlebury, Jim plans to meet regularly with residents, business communities, town leaders, and a wide range of civic groups for a candid discussion of issues and concerns.  He will share those issues and concerns with the PEL Study team.  He will also be regularly publishing information on a blog on the Vergennes PEL website.  The first blog post was published Friday, June 2, and can be found at the Community Liaison Corner on the Vergennes website at https://vergennespel.com/community-liaison-corner.