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Between busted tires and waiting in traffic, anyone regularly traveling Route 30 won’t soon forget the major reconstruction undertaken by the Vermont Agency of Transportation this year. Now, the road is a pleasure to drive.
“The project went very well and met all our objectives,” said Matt Bogaczyk, project manager. “The project team completed everything on the project task list, which involved a series of steps to improve the quality and durability of the Route 30 road surface.”
Work included milling the existing surface, completing the first reclamation pass by pulverizing and homogenizing the pavement with the subbase, adding new gravel to improve banking, completing a second reclamation pass, and finishing by putting down pavement made up of cold mix and hot mix asphalt. Guardrail runs, some culverts and ditching were replaced or maintained.
Some rock slope issues within the corridor were addressed. Signs were upgraded to meet the current standards.
The approximately $27.5 million project was finished on schedule in November.
“As a result, Route 30 is now in great condition for roadway users for years to come and will serve the community well,” Bogaczyk said.
Bogaczyk noted the main challenge involved the large project area, which spans about 10 miles between Brattleboro and Newfane. He said the project team showed “flexibility and responsiveness to the community’s feedback.”
They changed their construction phasing halfway through the construction season after hearing from the community that the gravel surface was causing problems for motorists.
“They decided to split the project into two phases, each covering 5 miles of the road, and completing one phase before starting the other,” Bogaczyk said. “This reduced the gravel exposure and the traffic disruptions and improved the residents’ quality of life.”
All in all, Bogaczyk said the project team “delivered a high-quality project that will benefit everyone.”
Bogaczyk said there’s always uncertainty when it comes to the quality of the existing sub-base gravel material until the pavement is removed.
“Following the removal of the existing pavement, it was realized that the existing subbase material was suitable and could remain in place,” he said. “This eliminated a significant amount of potential work and provided cost savings.”
With proper maintenance and repair work, roadways that undergo this process are designed for a 20-year lifespan, Bogaczyk said. He noted full depth reclamation is recommended when there’s damage to the roadway below the distressed pavement layer, as it is more cost efficient and lasts longer than a simple overlay of asphalt.
VTrans’ Pavement Management System identified the Route 30 corridor for a project based on the surface condition, which was considered poor before construction.
“Based on the distresses, a reclaim was identified as the appropriate treatment to alleviate the issues in the roadway and extend the acceptable surface conditions,” Bogaczyk said. “During design, there were additional items identified for inclusion in the project, including some slope stabilization, new lane installation, and the installation of buffered bike lanes.”
THE COLLECTIVE
The VT 30 Collective launched in the fall. Within about 60 days, 16 partners joined the effort to boost the rebound of the road’s business corridor after “major impacts had resulted from the road construction, flooding, lower tourist visitation and buying behaviors shifting online,” according to the group.
A multi-year campaign to strengthen the vitality, relevance and community connections along Route 30 is anticipated to deploy “place based marketing and branding to showcase the special local amenities and the benefits of shopping, working and investing in the area, via a variety of media channels.”
“We are thrilled with the excitement to date, and we foresee the campaign growing substantially over the next year, as we work to bolster the local economy and create vibrant strong towns in this special part of southeastern Vermont” said Gibbs Rehlen, co-founder of the initiative.
When the roadway work was finished, the collective celebrated at The Newfane Store. Free cake depicting construction on Route 30 was provided.
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