Smoother sailing: Route 4 paving ahead of schedule

Traffic on Route 4 in Woodstock Village in late May. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

There’s more work to be done along Route 4 in Woodstock Village, but it’s smoother sailing than it used to be. In fact, the state’s paving project is going so well that the second layer of pavement might be done this month — about two months ahead of time — provided the weather cooperates, local officials say.

In a Thursday interview, Woodstock Village Trustees Chair Jeff Kahn couldn't confirm when the whole project would end, but he said this progress means the noisiest parts of the project would be done well ahead of schedule. The second layer of paving was originally scheduled for August, with the entire project to be completed in September. This month, some of the paving may be done at night, which was a helpful way to get the first round of paving done more quickly, Kahn noted.

"They'll be re-striping the roads after the paving is done," he said.

Speaking of re-striping, the Village Trustees and Municipal Manager William Kerbin have a request in to the state to reapply the yellow lines at the western end of the Rec Center bridge and at the hairpin turn by Maplefields. Earlier in the year, the village had expressed its concern about those two locations because oversized trucks often go over the curb while making those turns. That's more of a concern now, since the Route 4 oversized truck permit the state had allowed for years in Hartford, Woodstock and Bridgewater is going away as of July 2022, after opposition to it in the Senate was successful.

During the paving project, however, the Agency of Transportation opted to remove the yellow line at those two Woodstock Village locations, Kahn said. He worried that large trucks would go even farther into the opposing lane at those sharp turns without the yellow line there. There was no word Thursday on the village's request.

"Hopefully the AOT will comply, but we'll find out," Kahn said.

After the paving, crews will complete re-striping and also re-create the parking spaces throughout the village.

The project is currently ongoing from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting. This week, some parts of Route 4 in the village have seen one-way traffic, as have the village portions of Routes 12 and 106, which are also part of the project.

— Gareth Henderson

Route 4 project to start Sunday in Woodstock

Part of Route 4 in the village of Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

The state's Route 4 paving project in Woodstock Village will be starting up this weekend.

Beginning Sunday evening and most of the week, the contractor will start grinding pavement during nighttime hours from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. The full project involves Route 4 in the village limits and also the village portions of Route 12 and Route 106, and it is scheduled to be completed in September.

A state update about this coming week said "motorists should expect intermittent lane closures and alternate one-way traffic controlled by flaggers on VT Routes 4 and 106 in Woodstock as crews mill pavement during nighttime hours." Starting Sunday, milling in that area is expected to take five nights, the state said, and crews will begin at the east end of Route 4 in the village, working their way west.

The announcement also noted this night work will require light towers: "The contractor will make every effort to mitigate light impacts on residents and businesses along the route by placing the towers to face away from windows to the extent possible."

On Friday, Village Trustees Chair Jeff Kahn acknowledged the night work would be tough on people.

"On the other hand, it's going to be faster to get the work done that way," Kahn said, noting that crews won't have to deal with traffic and parked cars. This also means the project may have a chance to wrap up ahead of schedule, he added. "We are very pleased it's getting underway at the end of April."

It wasn't immediately clear how much night work would be involved in the project after the first week. More details weren't available from the state as of late afternoon Friday.

— Gareth Henderson

Editor’s Note: This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

Vt. bill eyes growing school construction needs

The American flag moves in a summer breeze at Woodstock Union High School & Middle School. (Gareth Henderson File Photo)

School construction needs in Vermont are adding up fast, and a current bill moving through the Legislature seeks to assess the situation. 

The Vermont House of Representatives has passed a $2.5 million bill that calls for a statewide assessment of public education facilities, and this legislation is now in the Senate. The point is to get a full understanding of the condition of these buildings and determine which projects are most urgent, according to State Rep. Charlie Kimbell, representing Woodstock, Reading and Plymouth. 

A state program used to be in place to help fund school construction projects, but that ended in 2007. Statewide, school districts have identified $560 million worth of needed building projects, involving either new buildings or major renovations, Kimbell said. Eventually, the hope is to prioritize those projects and figure out how to fund them. State-based funding methods for school building projects vary, like in Massachusetts, which Kimbell said uses a “straight allocation of its sales tax,” while other states take the money right out of their General Fund.

“We’re going to have to figure out what the right mechanism is, because it’s a lot of money,” Kimbell said.

However, the first step is the assessment, which is the main function of the bill the House just passed, bill H. 426. Specifically, the bill allocates the $2.5 million and authorizes the state to put out a request for proposals for the assessment. The bill also directs the Agency of Education to update school construction facility standards, and requires each school have a school facilities manager.

Many of the Vermont school building projects being considered today involve schools originally built in the 1950s and 60s. One of those projects is a proposed $73.3 million project for a new Woodstock Union High School & Middle School building. Federal, state, local and private sources will be explored to raise some of the funding for the project, and a Fundraising Working Group is currently being formed. A bond vote is targeted at some point within the time range of 2022-2024.

It’s unclear whether the Woodstock project would be able to use whatever funding mechanism the state may eventually implement. If the bill gets final legislative approval, the state is expecting a January 2023 report that will include a recommendation on funding, Kimbell said.

Once completed, the Senate version of the bill H. 426 is likely to come back to the House for amendments.

— Gareth Henderson