Vermont: Champlain Parkway

A Project 50 Years in the Making 

Challenge: Since the late 1960’s Burlington residents have dreamed of a road that would make it easy to get from the Central Business District to the city’s South End.  Lack of connectivity forces truck and commuter traffic through neighborhoods and makes some communities feel cut off from opportunity. But the idea of a major highway running through the charming city never found traction. And as the city grew, the need for a solution grew as well.   

Solution: With help from the bipartisan infrastructure investment law, the City of Burlington and the Vermont Agency of Transportation are close to finishing work on a road that will bring the city together. The Champlain Parkway is a 2.8-mile project that one local TV news outlet said was “50 years in the making.” The new two-lane, multi-modal roadway transforms existing roadways into more efficient and user-friendly routes, alleviating neighborhood traffic and congestion. The plan calls for new signage, pavement markings, bicycle, and pedestrian accommodations, and upgraded traffic signal equipment.   

What they’re saying: “City Market took a big risk moving our second location here with the promise in the background from the city that they would commit on this decade-long promise of the new corridor. So we’re so excited to see it finally happen. ” – Cheray MacFarland, director of community and marketing for local co-op grocery store, City Market (NBC 5, 08/20/2024)  

Photo Credit: Champlain Parkway Project