Major I-91 bridge project kicks off Monday

Rockingham-Springfield - US Route 5 Weekly Construction Update - 7/17/2017:

Paving: The prime contractor, Lane Construction (Lane), is working on driveway aprons and transitions in Springfield through this week.

Roadway Shoulder and Guardrail: Lane will continue with roadway shoulder and slope clean up as well as placing and resetting guardrail this week. They will be working in Rockingham just North of US Route 5 / Route 103, and headed towards Bellows Falls for these construction activities. There will be alternative one-way traffic around construction activities.
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If you have any questions regarding this project, feel free to contact Jacquie Dagesse directly at 802-324-5522.

Major I-91 bridge project kicks off Monday

http://www.wcax.com/story/35889657/major-i-91-bridge-project-kicks-off-monday?platform=hootsuite

Posted: Jul 14, 2017 5:19 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 14, 2017 6:41 PM EDT

By Kristin Kelly

ROCKINGHAM, Vt. -

The days for two bridges on Interstate 91 are numbered.

"It's a large project especially for Vermont," said Ann Gammell, the VTrans construction manager. "We don't typically do them of this magnitude."

Work to demolish and replace the north and southbound spans over the Williams River in Rockingham is getting underway. They were built in the 1960s and now are considered in poor condition. The massive concrete piers need to be replaced. And there are concerns about deteriorating gusset plates that tie sections of the bridge together.

The same type of gusset plates were blamed for the collapse of a similarly designed bridge in Minneapolis 10 years ago. Thirteen people died.

VTrans says this $44 million replacement project will take three years, even with designers and contractors working together at the same time to speed up the process.

"It is a long project but compared to traditionally, if we had done this through a traditional design, bid, build-type of contracting method, it would have taken probably twice as long," Gammell said.

So what does this mean for drivers? Starting Monday the Exit 6 northbound ramp will be closed and drivers diverted to Route 5. That's so crews can build crossovers. Those crossover pathways will open in two weeks. Traffic on 91 will be down to one lane in each direction. And it will be like that till both bridges are done in 2020.

Narrowing travel to one lane in each direction will slow traffic down. VTrans says it's going to have a "smart zone" work site which will track how heavy traffic is and that will send alerts to road signs to let drivers know what to expect.

http://www.wcax.com/story/35889657/major-i-91-bridge-project-kicks-off-monday?platform=hootsuite