FAIRLEE — The reopening of both lanes of Interstate-91 Southbound between Fairlee and Bradford, Vt., has been delayed until later this month as crews finish up a rock ledge stabilization project.
The lane nearest to the ledge between exits 15 and 16, which has been closed intermittently since construction began in spring 2024, is expected to reopen “in a few weeks,” Bruce Martin, Vermont Agency of Transportation project manager, said in a Friday phone interview.
Agency officials previously had hoped crews would be finished by mid-December, but winter weather led to a delay.
“It’s run a little bit longer, but they’re finishing up the last items and should hopefully open back up to two lanes very soon,” Martin said, emphasizing that all the work is weather dependent.
There will be lane closures again for about a month in the spring as workers pave and clean up that stretch of I-91.
“I’m sure they’re going to want to get out there as soon as construction season starts, which is mid-April for us,” Martin said.
The project dates back to late February 2024, after rocks tumbled down the ledge and onto the highway. That April, VTrans launched a years-long, $15 million state-funded project to stabilize the ledge. The work required lane closures and initially diverted traffic to Route 5.
Last summer and fall, workers started to attach new wire mesh sheets to ledge, which is as much as 400 feet tall in some places, making it Vermont’s tallest rock ledge along an interstate, Martin said. The work has required the unusual use of a helicopter.
“Not something we’ve ever done here in Vermont. Unique for sure,” he said.