Hartford — The culvert replacement project that has closed a portion of Route 5 between White River Junction and North Hartland since early November is on target to meet its New Year’s Eve interim completion date, Vermont Agency of Transportation officials said on Friday.

The area near the intersection with Neal Road and just north of Hartford’s trash and recycling center should open to two-way traffic sometime on Monday, though motorists shouldn’t expect it in time for the morning commute that day, AOT resident engineer Eric Foster said.

In icy conditions on Friday, Foster oversaw a busy work crew from Westminster, Vt.-based Bazin Brothers, which won the contracting bid for the approximately $640,000 project, according to AOT project manager Chris Bump.

Haulers, rollers and excavators remained active some 30 feet above the new culvert, an 11-foot sphere made of black, corrugated metal. It’s replacing the 1930s-era, rectangular 3-by-6 foot stone and concrete culvert that washed out due to clogging issues on Nov. 7.

“It’s been a hard project; a lot of long days,” said Foster. “The whole road had to come up and they had to dig a 37-foot ditch and divert the stream, then fill everything back in according to gradation specs. It has been a challenge, but the contractor has been excellent.”

Expediting the project has been a collaborative effort between various AOT districts, Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources and other entities, Bump said.

“The (culvert) manufacturer stopped what they were doing and had it built for us in a matter of days,” Bumps said. “The Agency of Natural Resources offered a lot of technical assistance in addition to regulatory oversight, and the Army Corps of Engineers expedited the design review to issue the permit. So everyone really pulled together to get this done.”

Some aspects of the project won’t be completed until spring, such as the installation of permanent guard rails, pavement finishing and the planting of vegetation to help mitigate erosion, Foster said. In the meantime, concrete barriers will be installed alongside the roadway.

The reopening of Route 5 will be a welcome development for residents on nearby Neal Road and Rustic Road. Though the official, signed detour prompts motorists to access Route 5 south of the construction site via exit 9 off Interstate 91 near Hartland village, many commuters have used Neal Road and Rustic Roads as a shortcut to get between Hartland and White River Junction.

About 3,800 motorists per day traveled along this stretch of Route 5 prior to the washout, according to AOT traffic data.

“It’s been crazy through here,” said Barb Gramling, who has lived on Neal Road for 35 years. “It’s bumper-to-bumper during the morning commute, afternoon commute and on trash day. The worst part is there has been a lot of litter on the side of the road, and people drive way too fast.”

Rustic Road connects with Route 5 just south of the transfer station, whose solid waste supervisor, Bob Vahey, said business has been largely unaffected during construction.

“We were worried not as many people would come, but you’ve got to get rid of garbage one way or another,” Vahey said. “The biggest nuisance for us has been that Casella has been charging us more to pick up because they have to go down almost to Windsor and back up. I don’t blame them; that’s about a 35-mile detour when you add both ways.”

The neighboring redemption center has seen a decrease in customers since the project began, according to clerk Kate McGrotty.

“It’s been a lot less busy,” she said. “(Rustic Road) is super bumpy and can be muddy and icy, and people who haven’t lived here for a long time don’t know about it. So I think people are bringing (recyclables) to other places.”

Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.