Route 104 Repaving Begins Tuesday, September 08, 2009

[Henry]

COUNT ON IT
Business Services, Inc.

September 4, 2009

To Whom It May Concern

RE:   FAIRFAX – ST. ALBAN’S TOWN
   VT ROUTE 104

Please be advised beginning Tuesday, September 08, 2009 Frank W. Whitcomb Construction Corporation will begin the repaving of Vermont Route 104 starting in Fairfax at the intersection of Routes 104 & 104A proceeding northbound to St. Albans Town to the intersection of Routes 104 & 105.  The expected completion date is June 11, 2010.

This project will consist of resurfacing the existing pavement with two courses of pavement along with ditch work, new signs, guardrail and other incidental items. 

During this construction period, motorists should expect traffic flow to be maintained at all times with traffic control present.  We ask motorists to use extreme caution while traveling through the zone. 

The Public Relations telephone number for the public to call with any questions or concerns is 802-862-6085.

I will be contacting you weekly with any construction updates.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

COUNT ON IT BUSINESS SERVICES, INC.

Stephanie B. Barrett
Contracted Public Relations Officer

6 Lime Rock Road · So. Burlington, Vermont 05403 · 802-862-6868 · fax 802-863-8790

[Henry]

Asked Stephanie how long she thought they would be paving and she said, "They will not be paving in the winter months however we are hoping that our June & July weather happens in September / October…..   Work will continue as long as the weather cooperates!"

[MikeF9]

Really.
No kidding.

Can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see what their fall paving looks like in the spring.

[Rev. Elizabeth]

I hope they are making it wide enough so that cyclists can use it safely!

[mirjo]

Grrreeaat. I wonder if we'll be re-routing to I89? Let's hope.

[Mike Raburn]

As long as they cool it slowly, have the good temp of the asphalt, and have the proper fill, it can work.

We usually can asphalt until the plants close here in mid October early November.

But thanks to Al Gore, we have had an exceptional summer.
I was in the back yard until 10pm with a fire going and the temp was a BALMY 65F. I just wanted the fire for ambiance........

[cedarman]

"have the proper fill"

i think there in lies the problem.  As I understand it, they are just going to pave over the existing road.  From what I've been told, the road was built at a time that it was not uncommon to use bolders for fill, build directly on stone ledge, and bury stumps that were where the road was built.   The road doesn't have a suitable base, and it's faster and cheaper in the short run to just repave what is there.

As for shoulders - don't count on that.  There is no mention do doing and base work, or widening - just recoating and ditch scraping.

[Henry]

Albert Rich let me scan a photo he had of the construction of Route 104 - The above photo is just North of the Village towards the Bellows Farm

[trussell]

I have to say that I'm very impressed with the communication that FWW has been doing for this project.  I read it here, in a newspaper, and also received a letter taped to my mailbox last week.  I really appreciate the heads-up so I can plan ahead and allow a little more time in my commute!

[mirjo]

Love the old photo Henry! Imagine cutting in a road with a team of horses and a plow hitched to a rickety wooden wagon! It looks like the wheels would fall off if those horses put any kind of tug in their pull. (I wonder how many wheels that crew lost in those ruts? Or how often they had a breakdown of some sort? How long did it take etc.)

When the phrase "A picture is worth a 1000 words"  was coined, it must've meant in the form of a question!

[vtoutdoorguymb]

They are doing one lane at a time it appears, and made good progress today...

When I went into work around 10:30 they were just north of 104A, when I came home they had done quite a ways up 104 North close to Joyal Fuels!

Wait was not too bad this morning either, probably around 4-5 mins or so...that will get better when they get onto straight stretches of road...

[Chris Santee]

I was impressed with the progress also when I went through at 2:30pm.
Nice and smooth.
Seems a few inches wider, but not much.

[dearon]

Love the picture Henry, is there a year on that?

[cedarman]

The paved stretch does look nice now, and I commend the guys and gals out there laying down the pavement, but in the big picture/planning side, it will be a quick fix.

I noticed a couple spots where there were big bumps in the road, there was a little bump in the pavement which I'm guessing will rear it's ugly head come april.

The other highway paving/planning question I was wondering about was why they are going from 104A North.  Other than a couple of short sections, north of Joyal fuels is fairly good yet.  However, there is a lot of 104 from 104A to RT 15 that is very rough and needs more work than north of Joyals.

Don't get my couple of negative thoughts wrong.  I am glad to see some new pavement being put down, and the people doing the work are doing a great job at it.

[dearon]

I think Route 128 is in desperate need of resurfacing, from the bottom up.  What a nasty stretch of road that is.