Project Overview
The Champlain Parkway Project is a 2.8-mile project that will connect Interstate 189 (I-189) to the City of Burlington’s south end by creating a new two-lane multi-modal roadway and transforming the existing roadway (Pine Street) into a more efficient and user-friend route thereby alleviating neighborhood traffic and congestion.
In the 1960s, City Planners identified a need to provide access between I-189, U.S. Route 7 (Shelburne Street), and the City Center District in response to a study conducted by the Vermont State Department of Highways that recommended the construction of a Burlington Belt Line. As a result, the City of Burlington developed a new highway concept, known as the Southern Connector, to address that need in the 1970s. A portion of the Southern Connector, between I-189 and Home Avenue, was constructed in the 1980s before the project was stalled when a segment referred to as the ‘Pine Street Barge Canal’ was declared a superfund site. Over the last three decades, the City of Burlington Department of Public Works in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration and the Vermont Agency of Transportation has transformed the original four-lane freeway proposed as the Southern Connector into the current two-lane, low-speed, multi-modal roadway design known as the Champlain Parkway. For more information on the long history of the project, check out the History page.
The Champlain Parkway Project includes the construction of a new roadway from the existing I-189 near its intersection with U.S. Route 7 to Lakeside Avenue and upgrades to Lakeside Avenue and the section of Pine Street between Lakeside Avenue and Main Street. The project includes other improvements throughout the project area, including:
- new roadway signage and pavement markings,
- new bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and connections,
- new and upgraded traffic signal equipment,
- emergency vehicle preemption and transit signal priority,
- expansion of the stormwater management system,
- bus bulb-outs and shelters,
- roadway drainage, and more.
The Champlain Parkway Project will improve traffic circulation, increase roadway capacity to alleviate the overburdened corridor, and improve safety for all users in the southwestern section of the City. The project will expand South End connectivity for all users, and reduce truck and commuter traffic through the five Avenues neighborhoods.
The project will be completed in two phases under two separate construction contracts, which will be executed sequentially.
The initial contract included the construction of the segment of the Champlain Parkway between Home Avenue and Lakeside Avenue, upgrades to Lakeside Avenue, and the rehabilitation of Pine Street between Lakeside Avenue and Kilburn Street. As part of the initial contract new underground utilities and stormwater infrastructure were installed including a sand filter near Lakeside Avenue, the culvert at Englesby Brook, and the stormwater detention pond between Sears Lane and Flynn Avenue. As part of the initial contract, a shared use path connection was constructed between Pine Street and Shelburne Street (Route 7). The initial contract was awarded to SD Ireland Kubricky Joint Venture on May 10, 2022, for $44.8 million. Construction spanned three construction seasons beginning in Summer 2022 and reaching completion in December 2024.
The final contract includes the construction of the segment on the Champlain Parkway from the existing I-189 near its intersection with Route 7 to Home Avenue and the rehabilitation of Pine Street between Kilburn Street and Main Street. The final contract was awarded to Engineers Construction Inc. on August 14, 2024, for $14.4 million. Construction begin in January 2025 and will be completed in Summer 2026.
