In 2005, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) proposed a very expensive rebuild of the Brattleboro section of Route 5 known as Putney Road. The proposal highlighted converting the four intersections along the 1.3 mile strip into roundabouts, which would give it one of the most expensive per mile costs of any project in state history, and require the acquisition of land from 84 land owners. As the state also enacted a Complete Streets policy in 2011 and is now updating the state road standards to serve Active Transportation better, the bike lanes and sidewalks in the proposal are now outdated. The Vermont Sierra Club views this outdated proposal as failing to meet current needs, and requests that VTrans reconsider the project, hold public hearings to engage the community, and realign the project to meet current transportation goals.
The cost of this project was estimated at $30 million in 2005, the current estimate likely exceeds $100 million. Former Brattleboro businesswoman Nancy Braus met with Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn in 2018 and walked one of the most dangerous stretches of the road. Secretary Flynn understood the danger, but stated that no sidewalks or bike lanes could be built until the entire project is built. VTrans later came back and installed a couple of crosswalks and made a slight improvement to one walking path, (which should be a sidewalk)
The project is not funded. On January 3, 2025, the Planning Director of Brattleboro confirmed this, and Vermont Sierra Club believes it will never be funded for these reasons:
1. Land acquisitions have not even begun. It could get very expensive and cause even more delays if some landholders want to fight and the cases go to court.
2. The project is supposed to be paid for by a 20%/80% split between the state of Vermont and the federal government. However, the incoming Trump administration has made the availability of federal funding even more unlikely, and coupled with Trump’s goals to reduce and privatize the government we should not be counting on federal dollars. The funding also does not appear to be in the present VTrans budget, which has an existing budget shortfall on top of the possible reduction in federal funding during the incoming federal administration, making this very expensive project even less likely to be built.
3. The Agency Of Transportation (VTrans) understands that if this project does not get built, it must spend real money on bike lanes and sidewalks, as Putney Road is the strip where the most economically disadvantaged workers in town are forced to bike or walk to a night shift at McDonalds or Wendy's. Improvements are needed before a death occurs. Without funding this project remains in the books simply as a placeholder.
The Sierra Club and many environmentalists have supported roundabouts because they reduce tailpipe emissions in addition to increasing motorist safety, however in this case the escalating costs and poor safety for pedestrians and cyclists must be taken into account and should mandate that the entire project be rethought and terminated as planned.
The Vermont Sierra Club requests VTrans drop the 2005 project design and begin an active and expedited process of designing and building a reduced and more affordable plan with separated bike lanes and sidewalks on Putney Road.
(This statement was written by the Chapter's Transportation team and also submitted as an oped by Chapter's Conservation Program Manager Robb Kidd.)
