Travelers who plan to cross the Burlington-Winooski bridge next week will get a small taste of what's to come in 2028, when officials will break ground on a project to replace the bridge. Drivers can expect traffic disruptions early next week as The Vermont Agency of Transportation engages in preparation work for the future bridge replacement.
Northbound traffic on the bridge will be reduced to one lane for two days, starting Monday, July 28 through Tuesday, July 29, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m, the city of Winooski announced in a civic alert.
The bridge connects two of the state’s most populous cities. Around 25,000 vehicles and up to 2,000 pedestrians and cyclists cross the bridge everyday.
The almost 100-year-old bridge is being replaced because transportation officials believe the flow of traffic between the cities has increased to a level beyond the current bridge’s capacity.
During next week’s project, the agency plans to collect samples of the soil underneath the bridge to better understand the condition of the ground.
“It's just intermittent work we need to do as we work through the design phase,” said Robert Klinefelter, Vermont Agency of Transportation’s structures project manager.
This type of work is usually conducted to help answer questions that pop up during the project’s design process, Klinefelter explains.
This is not the first time the project’s team has conducted preliminary work like this, nor will it be the last.
Next week's activity is a precursor to three long, winding years of construction on the Burlington-Winooski Bridge, beginning after they finalize the design in 2027 and lasting through 2030.
The bridge will be built through a method called phase construction, where it will be dismantled and assembled piece by piece.
Under the current plan, construction workers would break ground in 2028. The first phase would involve workers building a portion of the new bridge next to the existing bridge. This will allow traffic to function as it currently does during the bridge’s peak traffic hours, and then lane reductions can be put in place during the bridge’s off-peak traffic hours.
Significant bridge lane closures will not begin until 2029, Klinefelter said, and will continue through the end of construction. This is when pieces of the existing bridge will be dismantled, and then replaced with pieces of the newly constructed bridge.
Vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic will be shifted around depending on the lanes closed at a given time.
“I think the concept that we've come up with … we feel is the least disruptive to the community, Klinefelter said. “We have done a lot of public outreach over the last couple of years. We've heard input from downtown Winooski business organizations, and they're in favor of this alternative that we've chosen.”
The communities of Burlington and Winooski have been struggling with the impacts of several construction projects within the past year and a half.
Businesses within downtown Burlington have expressed how they’re struggling to stay afloat due to extensive construction on Main Street, which started more than a year ago and will last until the end of 2026.
Winooski businesses lined along that city’s Main Street have also voiced similar sentiments throughout the street reconstruction, which started in April 2024 and is expected to finish next summer.
“We've talked with a lot of stakeholders, and I think the majority recognize that this bridge is almost 100 years old and it needs to be replaced, Klinefelter said. “It's sort of understood that it has to happen.”
To address any unforeseen problems, the Winooski River Bridge project is adding a community liaison to its team. This person will help communicate any community concern that pops up throughout the construction process to the design-construction team.
Klinefelter said the existing construction plans are based on the project’s current concept, which the agency will develop to a certain stage. The contractor and engineering firm will finalize the project, so construction plans may be adjusted.
The Winooski River Bridge project received a $22.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation last week.
