Detour ends in time for Wine Fest weekend
By Polly Mikula
By Polly Mikula
The town of Killington celebrated the reopening of the base of Killington Road with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, Friday, July 19.
Killington Road reopens to two-way traffic ending the three month detour up West Hill Road.
On Friday, July 19, at 2 p.m. Killington Road reopened to two-way traffic ending the three month detour up West Hill Road.
“The road will be opened to two-way traffic, marked with barrels and cones. It will still be a gravel surface, so please use caution when traveling,” explained Markowski Excavating, Inc. in a news release prior to the opening.
The reopening was just in time for the Killington Pico Association’s (KPAA) annual Killington Wine Festival, which welcomes about 600 people to town Friday and Saturday (see page 18). The first event of the weekend is the Estate Gala at 6 p.m. It’s at the Killington Peak Lodge at the top of the K-1 Gondola.
By Zach Godwin/Killington Resort
Drone shots taken July 10 show Killington Road reconstruction progress from the intersection with Route 4 to Anthony Way.
“This is going to be a monumental weekend as the Killington Road reopens the same day that the 23th Annual Wine Festival kicks off!” said Beth Sarandrea, president of the KPAA, Friday. “We are excited to see people turning up the road again, the ease of transportation will be greatly welcomed as we look forward to seeing approximately 600 people coming to town for the event to visit businesses for the wine trail, attend the gala at the peak on Friday night and enjoy fabulous food, wine, spirits, music and shopping from artisan vendors at the grand tasting on Saturday afternoon.”
“This is the important first step of many by Killington Forward, which includes housing, water, improved transportation. Exciting times for Killington!” wrote Killington’s Public Works Director Abbie Sherman in a statement.
The road will remain gravel until Monday, Aug. 12 when it will close again for paving. It will reopen Monday, Aug. 19 at 2 p.m.
“Once we enter the end of August, expect clean up work along the edges of the asphalt, final stabilization work, clean up along Route 4 and final sign installation at the Killington Mountain Sports building,” Markowski said.
“It’s great to see the vision coming to reality,” said Town Manager Michael Ramsey. “Town officials have worked hard to drive these projects forward through a myriad of complex challenges, and we’re grateful to everyone who played a role in getting us really close to the finish line of our first big project.”
The road has been closed since Monday, April 15. Since then Markowski has been blasting and trucking away material in order to reduce the grade of the hill, particularly at its intersection with Route 4. Dry waterlines have also been installed and will connect to the new municipal water line once it makes its way down the road.
Last week trees were also cut down by the Killington sign at the intersection with Route 4. “This is to make room for new sloping on the banks and allow Green Mountain Power to install new power lines,” Markowski explained.
Work this week, in advance of the opening, will focus on wrapping up most of the sewer line installation, as well as building swales and laying topsoil along the side slopes.
“Green Mountain Power will be on site this week also, working on switching power lines from one side to the new poles on the West side,” Markowski noted.
To commemorate the reopening of the road, the town of Killington hosted a celebration and invited “funders and other parties involved in making this project happen,” according to Pubic Works Director Abbie Sherman.
Vehicles drove through in a procession followed by a reception at the Public Safety Building. The road opened to the public afterward.
On the other side of the mountain, Bear Mountain Road will be closed Friday, July 19, from 12-4 p.m. while a culvert is replaced.
