City on Track to Complete Major Investments and Improvements in Burlington Infrastructure During the 2018 Construction Season
Department of Public Works Begins Saint Paul Street Reconstruction Next Week
Burlington, VT – Due to the voters’ passage of the Sustainable Infrastructure Plan in November of 2016, the City has been making major investments in Burlington’s streets, sidewalks, and water mains this summer construction season. The Department of Public Works (DPW) is on target to pave over 6 miles of roadways, reconstruct over 3 miles of sidewalks, install a half mile of curb, and renew 3 miles of water mains.
As early as the week of August 27, DPW and the Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO) will oversee contractors who will begin work creating a more sustainable and vibrant St. Paul Street as part of the City’s Great Streets project, approved by the City Council on August 13. The Great Streets Initiative is a transformative and comprehensive framework to guide reinvestment in our downtown streets, continued beautification of our streetscape and installation of even more resilient infrastructure. Construction will occur in two phases – a 4-month phase this fall which will continue through December 2018 – and a 3-month phase this spring which is projected to wrap up in June 2019.
During construction, business on St. Paul Street will remain open. Pedestrians will have access to residences and businesses during construction. St. Paul Street between Main Street and Maple Street will be closed to vehicular traffic. As part of a partnership with Champlain College, the City is managing 53 new public parking spaces at the 194 St. Paul Street garage, which will remain open during construction. DPW staff has been in close communication with residents and businesses about the impacts of construction, including holding public meetings to discuss project schedule, impacts, and logistics.
SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT STREETS: A PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The new Saint Paul Street design will create an even more resilient street that will better serve our residents and businesses for generations to come. The water mains on this stretch of St. Paul were relined during the 2017 construction season in advance of this project. Improvements on St. Paul Street will:
- Incorporate critical green infrastructure including rain gardens, permeable pavers and soil cells to better manage stormwater and protect Lake Champlain
- Reconstruct and widen sidewalks to accommodate increased pedestrian traffic and outdoor restaurant seating
- Install granite curbing
- Repave the roadway and add brick paver crosswalks
- Bury overhead utilities
- Plant trees in engineered soil cells to foster a healthy urban tree canopy
GREAT STREETS BACKGROUND
In 2015, voters approved the use of TIF dollars to make new investments in downtown public infrastructure, ensuring that Burlington continues to have a vibrant, walkable, and sustainable urban center. The Great Streets Initiative (GSI) is a culmination of many years of planning and project development to create a more sustainable and connected downtown streetscape. When completed, the two St. Paul Street blocks will be the first downtown blocks redesigned to the Great Street standards.
Three principles are embedded in the Great Streets standards:
- To create a balance among users and uses of the right-of-way, to ensure that all modes of travel are accommodated in a safe and adequate way;
- To guide the selection of materials and furnishings that will result in unified
public streetscapes throughout downtown as projects are constructed over
time; - To reframe the center of downtown by investing in the streets that frame City Hall Park and connect downtown to the waterfront.
Great Streets is about helping our downtown continue to be a place for all Burlingtonians and serves as a guideline, not a blueprint or a one size fits all. Great Streets builds flexibility into project level decision making and is adaptable to different streets and different projects. Project development and public engagement continue to be key.
SCHEDULE -- tentative
- Week of August 27: Construction Begins
- Week of August 27-November 2018: St Paul St closed to all through traffic. King and Maple open with at least an east-west pair
- November 2018-December 2018: Winter construction (St Paul St re-opens, specialized work)
- April 2019 - June 2019: Complete construction
ST PAUL STREET DESIGNS
PROJECT TEAM
- DPW
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- Laura Wheelock, Project Manager
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- Ashley Toof, Project Manager
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- Rob Goulding, Public Information Manager
- CEDO
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- Kirsten Merriman-Shapiro, Project Manager
- General Contractor, SD Ireland
- City's On-Site Representative & Resident Engineer, EIV Technical Services
- Design Engineer, Dubois & King
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- On the Great Streets Initiative, please visit www.greatstreetsBTV.com
- On the St Paul Street project, please visit www.burlingtonvt.gov/dpw/GreatStreetsSP
- On parking, including the new public parking at 194 St Paul Street, and to view an interactive map of all parking options, please visit www.ParkBurlington.com.
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