west river trail

Smart Zone Tools Will Provide Travel Conditions for 1-91 Bridge Replacement
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Smart Zone Tools Will Provide Travel Conditions for 1-91 Bridge Replacement

from-west-river-final-bridge-largeThe PCL+FIGG Team that is working under contract to the Vermont Agency of Transportation to reconstruct I-91 bridges in Brattleboro is using a full array of “Smart Zone” tools, including Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS), Wavetronics radar traffic sensors, and video cameras that will broadcast live data to a public website devoted to the project. The site’s traffic sensors will continuously monitor traffic volumes in the work zone. This information will be used to automatically post messages on project signs regarding potential delays and expected travel times.
The project website (http://www.i91brattleborobridge.com) includes live video 24/7 of traffic conditions in the construction zone from several locations and also depicts the messages posted on the project’s portable signs.
VTrans and the PCL+FIGG Team has access to the administrative side of the website and is able to monitor the work zone for traffic congestion and incidents requiring emergency responses, including disabled vehicles and crashes. When situations such as these occur and public notification is warranted, the PCL+FIGG Team will be able to change messages on the project’s PCMS signs remotely to alert drivers and website viewers of changes in travel conditions.
If you would like more information about the bridge replacement project, or would like to receive e-mail notices of future travel restrictions associated with this project, please contact Cindy Cook at ccook@adamantaccord.com or (802) 223-1330.

West River Trail Closure Update for Week of Oct. 13, 2013
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West River Trail Closure Update for Week of Oct. 13, 2013

wrtPlease Note!
Truck activity on the West River Trail will continue for the week of October 13. The trail from the I-91 bridges to the marina will be closed for all of the week of October 13. Through access will not be allowed from the north due to construction.
The Trail is OPEN from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge — look for iron chain across the trail, on the right side of the road.

West River Trail Closure Update for Week of Oct 6, 2013
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West River Trail Closure Update for Week of Oct 6, 2013

wrt 2I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update – Week of October 6, 2013

Truck activity on the West River Trail will continue for the week of October 6. Temporary widening of the trail for construction access will continue as well. The trail from the I-91 bridges to the marina will be closed for the week of October 6. Through access will not be allowed from the north due to construction.

West River Trail Closure for the Week of September 30, 2013
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West River Trail Closure for the Week of September 30, 2013

I-91 bridgeI-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update – Week of September 30, 2013

Truck activity on the West River Trail will begin to increase next week. The trail from the I-91 Bridges to the Marina Trailhead will be closed all next week. Thru access will not be allowed from the north due to construction.

Caution: Poison Ivy on the Trail
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Caution: Poison Ivy on the Trail

summer pi photoCaution: Poison Ivy is abundant along edges of the trail.

About Poison Ivy: Poison Ivy adapts to the environment very well. It can have many forms. It can grow along the ground as a vine, it can grow up trees 30 feet or more and it can look like a shrub. The leaves can be lime green, shiny green, dull green, yellow, orange, red and scarlet. Leaf sizes can range from half an inch to six inches long. Leaves can be notched or not.
The one consistent attribute is that the leaves always come in threes.
Click on poison-ivy.org for more photos and information.

There are areas of the trail where poison ivy is growing along the edges. We would like trail users to be aware of this, so we’re sharing this photo and information to help you identify it. We will also put this photo and information on the trailhead kiosk. Plans are in the works for trying high concentration vinegar spray sometime soon this summer to see if it’s effective in killing it back. If it works well, we will spray again in early summer 2014. If it doesn’t work well, we will look into other ways to eradicate it. If you have suggestions on how to eradicate poison ivy, let us know. Thanks!

West River Trail Work Completed by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
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West River Trail Work Completed by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps

Recent West River Trail improvements are the result of the hard work of a crew from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. In their three weeks on the West River Trail, the crew rebuilt the bridge by the beaver dam, including stone work underneath, new locust posts set on new stone pilings and lashed railings in place. Wooden mile marker posts have been set every ½ mile, more drainage work was completed, all the old car metal debris and tires have been hauled away and a 1/2 mile of new trail will be cleared, north of the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead, on The Nature Conservancy land. A big thanks to Corps crew members Roslyn Peters, Emma Rubalcava, Gray Barret, Dylan Berger, Amelia Barton, Kate Stevens, Nick Martiros and Zach Sullivan and crew leaders Brittany Kusserow and Alec Harris of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps for their good work.

The West River Trail Fundraising Run/Walk
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The West River Trail Fundraising Run/Walk

West River Trail Benefit RunWe had 18 participants, and raised $401 at the West River Trail Fundraising Run/Walk on a beautiful Saturday morning, July 27.
Thank you to Tim Fleming who conceived of the idea, did much of the organizing and publicity, and ran all the way to the Townshend Dam! Thank you to his daughter, Elsie, for running with him to the Rice Farm Rd trailhead, and to his wife Rebecca for providing water and snacks at that end of the trail for the runners and walkers. Thanks also to everyone who supported the trail by participating and making a donation, and to those who didn’t walk or run but made a donation anyway.  And thanks to Malcolm Moore for being there to help with parking, take photos and ride sweep to check on participants; and to Jim Webster for helping Kathleen White with registering participants and having water and watermelon available back at the Marina Trailhead, for those who went out and back.  A fun time and a successful event!

West River Trail Closure 8/5/13 through 8/9/13
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West River Trail Closure 8/5/13 through 8/9/13

Photo courtesy of FIGG This is an artist's rendering of the design for the new Interstate 91 bridge over the West River and Route 30 in Brattleboro.

Photo courtesy of FIGG
This is an artist’s rendering of the design for the new Interstate 91 bridge over the West River and Route 30 in Brattleboro.

PLEASE NOTE! The West River Trail, under the I-91 bridge, will be closed from 8/5/13 through 8/9/13 for conduit installation. Impacts may continue the following week as Green Mountain Power relocates an overhead utility line to an underground conduit. Thank you trail users, for your patience during this construction period.

Gateway to Vermont: I-91 Bridge Project to Begin
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Gateway to Vermont: I-91 Bridge Project to Begin

Photo courtesy of FIGG This is an artist's rendering of the design for the new Interstate 91 bridge over the West River and Route 30 in Brattleboro.

Photo courtesy of FIGG
This is an artist’s rendering of the design for the new Interstate 91 bridge over the West River and Route 30 in Brattleboro.

Excerpts from the Brattleboro Reformer on Saturday July 20, 2013. Click HERE for full article.

A $60 million project to replace the aging, deteriorated Interstate 91 bridge over Route 30 and the West River is scheduled to begin later this year. The two companies charged with designing and building the new span say they have created a signature gateway bridge that would capture the beauty of Vermont.

The West River trail will serve as a construction access for the new bridge over Route 30, the companies said. However, administrators are pledging to “work diligently to maintain safe access through the trail right of way with minimal disturbances for trail users.” “Any construction activities near the trail will be communicated by means of mass e-mail, social media and physical postings at the trail entrances,” the companies said. “The safety of the public using the West River Trail during construction activities will not be compromised, and separation between construction traffic and (trail) users will be provided.” Temporary full closures of the trail will be necessary at certain times, but those will be coordinated with the Friends of the West River Trail, administrators said.

A reminder that PCL Construction and FIGG Engineering Co., the contractors that are doing the I-91 bridge work for VTrans, will be relocating the utility conduit by the bridge during the week of July 29th. The trail near the bridge will need to be closed while the work is being done. This will take 3-5 days, from Monday, July 29 through possibly Friday, August 2.