ROUTE 104 STUDY AIMS TO CORRECT, PREVENT PROBLEMS

Rt. 104 study aims to correct, prevent problems
By LEE J. KAHRS – Messenger Staff Writer - Photos By Henry Raymond

Fairfax – Some residents do not think there is a problem with the traffic flow and general conditions along the Route 104 corridor. Others do.

Opinion was split at a meeting held here Wednesday night to garner public input for a corridor study of the heavily traveled road.

About 15 people attended the meeting, held in the Bellows Free Academy Elementary School gymnasium.

James Donovan, (shown above) a landscape architect and planner with Wilbur Smith Associates, facilitated the meeting. The Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) has hired Wilbur Smith Associates to conduct a corridor study.

Route 104 runs from Vermont 105 in St. Albans Town to Vermont 15 in Cambridge. A spur, Route 104A, branches off to connect Fairfax with Georgia; It ends at U.S. 7.

The study will examine existing conditions and make recommendations for improvements and planning options. The goal is to improve traffic circulation and access for all modes of transportation-from automobile to pedestrian.

The meeting was the first of two public sessions scheduled over the next six months.

Some community members began the meeting saying they did not think there was a problem. "I just don't see a big problem with traffic," said Fairfax resident Henry Raymond.

However, the discussion eventually turned to the areas of Route 104 where, as one person said, "you take your life in your hands."

Donovan highlighted what his firm has determined to be the most dangerous intersections along Route 104, starting in St. Albans Town. He highlighted the intersections at Congress Street, Route 36, Conger Road, 104A, River Road and Maple Street in Fairfax. The list includes intersections along 104, all the way into Cambridge, including where the highway meets Route 15.

Donovan said most of the areas have a site distance issue where it is hard to see oncoming traffic from at least one direction.

Donovan said another issue is the varied width of the shoulders along the rural highway, which he said range from less than two feet to four feet wide. Donovan added that the shoulders are also in poor condition, making travel for pedestrians and bicyclists difficult.

Reps. Carolyn Branagan and Brian Dunsmore, Republicans of Georgia, are pressing hard to nudge a Route 104 pavement refurbishment project up the state priority list. Donovan said the corridor study will not necessarily speed up that process, but will provide information to highway planners it when the time comes.

Fairfax dairy farmer Ralph McNall said he has noticed a difference between the condition of other roads in the state and Route 104.

It seems like roads are in better shape where there is a lot more traffic and a lot more people," he said.

Fairfax selectman Ed Nuttall said he has been told by residents that motorists get confused at the intersection of Route 104 and 104A, so they pull off the road, creating a dangerous situation. He also said that, because of a grading issue, the undersides of tractor-trailers hit the pavement while making the turn on to Route 104 from 104A.

Resident Michael Cain pointed out that planners should look to the future when considering improvements to the corridor.

"With Wal-Mart coming to St. Albans, people are going to have to come through Fairfax to get there, and that is going to increase traffic," he said.

Nuttall also suggested that Donovan contact local planning commissions regarding future development projects that may also add traffic to 104.

"If we talk about today's problems only," said Nuttall, "That's all we're going to fix."

A steering committee of about nine members has been formed to provide input and guidance on the direction of the study. The committee will review and comment on the recommendations of the study once it is completed.

Donovan said the panel is made up of town and agency representatives, including Nuttall, Tim Smith of the Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation, and representatives trom VTrans the Lamoille Planning Commission, and NRPC.

The steering committee will meet for work sessions in May and July. The next public work session will be held sometime in late July. A public presentation of the completed corridor study is scheduled for September.

Fairfax selectboard chair Dale Bellows (shown above, third from right) said Route 104 is a far different highway than it was in his grandfather's time.

"My grandfather said, back in the twenties, if you saw two buggies on 104, that was a lot of traffic," Bellows said.