Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public
SOUTH BURLINGTON — Plans to build a pedestrian bridge linking Burlington and South Burlington have been in the works for decades. Now, that bridge is one step closer to reality.
On Monday, the South Burlington City Council awarded a $20.14 million contract to Engineers Construction, Inc. for the first phase of the project.
Construction could begin as soon as this summer.
The walk-bike bridge will cross over I-89 at Exit 14.
Ilona Blanchard, South Burlington’s community development director, said the project will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in one of the state’s highest traffic areas.
“Anyone who lives in downtown Burlington but works in [the South Burlington] city center and who wants to walk or bike has to cross Exit 14,” Blanchard said. “There are no [traffic] signals there. And it’s a cloverleaf intersection, so it can be a little hairy, even for drivers.”
The new bridge would provide a safer route across the interchange. And Blanchard said the structure is meant to be “eye-catching.”
“It will be red, so it’ll be very noticeable over the interstate,” she said. “One of the things that the planning commission said is that they wanted the bridge to be iconic, and to help people understand where South Burlington is.”
South Burlington leaders have been talking about this bridge since the 1990s.
“The interesting thing about big capital projects is that they can start, and you won’t see a shovel in the ground for years and years,” Blanchard said.
The city solicited construction bids for the project in 2025, but none of the bids were within the project budget.
“So we value-engineered the project,” Blanchard said. “We broke it into two phases, and we also looked at how we could build it in a way that was less expensive.”
Phase I is building the bridge itself, which will connect to sidewalks on either end. Phase II will add connections to existing bike paths.
The total project cost is estimated at $27.5 million.
The majority of the project funding — more than $17.7 million — comes from two federal grants. About $6.6 million is expected to come from tax increment financing.
The city is looking for more grant funding — including from VTrans and the Northern Borders Regional Commission — to make up the rest. If the city is not able to close the funding gap, funds could be reappropriated from other TIF projects.
The construction will occur “over several evening shutdowns,” Blanchard said at Monday’s City Council meeting. “They will shut down either the northbound or the southbound lanes. It will be one side at a time. Traffic will be diverted through Williston, South Burlington and Winooski during the period of construction.”
Blanchard said the project checks a lot of boxes for South Burlington. It’s a way to tackle climate goals, improve public health, and lower transportation costs.
“We have a climate goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled every year. And then we also have goals of providing opportunities for [people] to be more active,” she said. “So it’s really good for the overall health of the community.”
And, Blanchard said, walking and biking is less expensive than other means of travel.
“And so if people can choose to walk and bike, they may have more access to employment or other things,” she said, “because transportation can be very expensive, especially for households with limited income.”
Once construction begins, Phase I is expected to take two to three years to complete.