Temporary Bridges Update #28
Demolition of Main Street Bridge Begins Today
What’s On Tap: Main Street. Early morning, Kubricky uses construction barrels to close Main Street between the crosswalk connecting Triangle Park to the National Bank of Middlebury and the crosswalk connecting the Village Green to the Post Office. Flaggers will help manage traffic flow at the intersection of Seymour Street, Main Street, and Route 7. During the day, a perimeter consisting of an 8-foot-high chain-link fence is established around the construction zone and Kubricky mobilizes in its heavy equipment for the bridge demolition. Printer’s Alley is closed to pedestrians and the sidewalk connecting the National Bank of Middlebury to the Post Office is closed, as is the sidewalk connecting Triangle Park to St. Stephen’s. Access to the National Bank of Middlebury is through its main entrance on Main Street, to St. Stephen’s through its side entrance on Main Street, and to the Post Office through its main entrance on Main Street. Vermont Concrete Cutting begins saw-cutting the roadway in preparation for demolition. Demolition to begin following Vermont Rail’s final run through Middlebury approximately midday Friday.
Getting Around Town Next Week
Several readers got in touch on Wednesday asking about pedestrian access to downtown during construction. First, let me be very clear about two things:
Downtown Middlebury Is Open for Business. Every business, every building.
You Can Get There From Here. No matter where your business takes you, you can get there.
Let’s illustrate that last point with two examples. Let’s say on Tuesday you want to walk from Sweet Cecily to our newest restaurant, Coriander, which is now serving lunch at its Washington Street location. You would cross Main Street, walk up Merchants Row, through the Village Green, cross North Pleasant Street, and walk around the Middlebury Inn to Coriander.
Or let’s say you have packages to mail at the Post Office. Here are two options. You can try parking on Seymour Street down across from Fire & Ice. There is often parking there. Or you can drive to the Town parking lot at the Memorial Sports Center off of Buttolph Drive and catch the downtown shuttle bus, which will drop you off 20 feet from the entrance to the P.O. Then the shuttle will pick you up at the P.O. and drive you back to your car.
With Main Street closed for two weeks, it’s going to be a challenge. But there are ways to get where you want to go, and your downtown businesses need your support during the coming month.
Not Forgetting the Marble Works
Much of our attention has been focused on Main Street and Merchants Row so I periodically need to remind everyone that the Marble Works businesses, too, are open and rely on your support. Here’s four faves of mine in the Marble Works: De Pasquale’s Favorite sub from Costello’s, the Organic Assam from Stone Leaf Tea House, the mushroom Medicine Wheel at American Flatbread, and the collected works of Lawrence Durrell at Otter Creek Used Books (even though, as “Larry” on The Durrells in Corfu, he was a bit of a stinker).
See you downtown.
Please keep your comments and questions coming. Send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll try to cover it in my next update.