8/29/2011 Update: Hurricane Irene has been & gone, washing away the temporary blacktop of Rte. 125 ‘improvement’ band-aids. With the Vermont Guard deployed to Afghanistan, Vermont lacks any meaningful disaster preparedness. We must bring the Vermont Guard home! Your legislator is violating his oath of office if he or she refuses to act on this.
Please go to Petition Online to sign a petition to keep Route 125 between East Middlebury and Ripton open, as they rebuild the Sand Hill Bridge. No guarantee on how long it’ll be closed; though with the usual cost overruns associated with public projects that lack public oversight, it could be a long time.
What this means is that VTrans waited 20 years past the end of this bridge’s life, and suddenly wish to replace it with stimulus funds. Rather than ask the affected communities, they’ve announced that they’re going to simply close the existing bridge and cut off traffic entirely.
Way too hasty. Please make your wishes known. This is one way that you can get more involved in your government and make a difference.
To: Vermont Agency of Transportation
We, the undersigned, are concerned about the impact of closing Vermont Route 125 and creating traffic detours across the Brandon Gap and Upper Plains Road, during the prolonged reconstruction of the Sand Hill Bridge in East Middlebury.
We insist that VTrans consider the impacts of closure:
- Emergency Services: Fire, Ambulance, Police times to Ripton would be increased considerably;
- As many as 2000 trips per day would be added to traffic on both Upper Plains Road, the North Branch Road and Notch Road;
- Businesses in Hancock, Goshen, Ripton and East Middlebury that depend on Route 125 would be severely impacted and unable to serve the community effectively.
Please maintain this vital east-west transport corridor through phased construction, or by installing one of Vermont’s many temporary bridges.
Sincerely,
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