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 is underway and is anticipated to be completed in 2024. The work includes the construction of the Champlain Parkway (new road) from Home Avenue to Lakeside Avenue and upgrades to Lakeside Avenue and the section of Pine Street between Lakeside Avenue and Kilburn Street. The final contract is anticipated to begin in 2025 and be completed by 2027. The final contract includes the construction of the Champlain Parkway from I-189 to Home Avenue and upgrades to Pine Street between Kilburn and Main Streets.
