U.S. ROUTE 4 “CROSSROAD OF VERMONT BYWAY” UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AS VERMONT’S 7th BYWAY
Posted on March 25, 2011
KILLINGTON – U.S. Rt. 4 was designated Wednesday by the Vermont Transportation Board as the “Crossroad of Vermont Byway.” The unanimous approval from the Board designates the 50-mile stretch of road from West Rutland to Hartford as Vermont’s 7th Byway. The designation includes the towns of West Rutland, Rutland City, Rutland Town, Mendon, Killington, Bridgewater, Woodstock, Hartland and Hartford (representing White River Junction and Quechee.)
Rt. 4 is a major east-west travel route for crossing the State, passing by many of Vermont’s defining characteristics. The Crossroad of Vermont Byway will highlight the unique features of Vermont, including the Quechee Gorge in Hartford, covered bridges in Woodstock, big-mountain recreation in Killington, and the Marsh Boardwalk in West Rutland. The byways program is designed to encourage towns to work together to promote, enhance and preserve their scenic, historical, recreational, cultural, archeological and natural qualities.
The collaborative effort to designate Rt. 4 as a byway began in March of 2010 by representatives of the participating towns, spearheaded by the Town of Killington. Designation as a byway will help attract new travel, tourism and grant dollars to the region, and allows the byways communities to apply for over $40 million in available federal grant funding.
“The designation supports our efforts to attract more visitors and help create a sense of arrival in town,” says Seth Webb, Director of Economic Development and Tourism for the Town of Killington. “We’re delighted to work with the neighboring towns to pursue commons goals that benefit us all.”
“We couldn’t be more excited about the collaboration of municipalities that have joined together to create this 50 mile U.S. Route 4 east –west byway through Central Vermont,” adds Tom Donahue, Executive Director of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. “Rarely do you see this kind of collaboration and unity to accomplish a common goal with little or no opposition or dissent.”
“There has been a tremendous grassroots effort among our communities to move this project forward in a very timely and efficient manner,” said Greg Smith, chair of the Mendon Select Board. “I know I’ve enjoyed broadening the relationship between Mendon and our neighboring communities and look forward to continuing to expand our cooperation as this and other projects come before us.”
The Byways committee plans to meet in late March to discuss initial marketing plans for Vermont’s newest byway. An overview of the Vermont Byway Program can be found at http://rutlandrpc.org/tprogram.php?program_id=12.
Photo (Left to right):
Members of the Crossroad of Vermont Byway Committee
Mary Ann Goulette, Town Manager, W. Rutland; Meg Horrocks, Project Coordinator, Town of Killington; Elizabeth Finlayson, Director, Woodstock Chamber of Commerce; Macy Lawrence, Member, Board of Directors, Woodstock Chamber of Commerce; Seth Webb, Director, Economic Development and Tourism, Town of Killington; Bill Blaiklock, President, Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce; Susan Schreibman, Assistant Director, Rutland Regional Planning Commission; Fred Nicholson, community representative, Rutland Town; Rita Seto, Regional Planner, Two Rivers – Ottauquechee Regional Commission; Matt Osborn, Town Planner, Town of Hartford; Ann Singiser, alternate representative, Town of Mendon; Justin Lindholm, Planning Commission , Town of Mendon: Missing from the photo are: David Allaire, President, Board of Alderman, Rutland City; Greg Smith, Chairman, Select Board, Town of Mendon; Tom Donohue, Executive Director, Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce; Bob Stacey, Town Manager, Town of Hartland; Lynne Bertram, Planning Commission, Bridgewater.