One of Vermont’s most traveled stretches of highway will be a construction zone for the next several weeks.
By the end of this week, all four lanes of Interstate 89 north- and southbound will be squeezed onto the northbound side between the South Burlington and Burlington exits, so a 45-year-old culvert can be replaced.
Later in the project, the four lanes will be moved to the southbound side. A culvert is essentially a tunnel that enables water to pass under a roadway.
Such projects usually result into the highway being narrowed to one lane in each direction, but state transportation officials say traffic is too heavy through that stretch, and that they need to maintain two lanes in each direction.
They caution, though, that the speed limit has been reduced to 45 miles per hour, tickets are being issued to speeders, and fines are doubled for people caught speeding in work zones.