Major construction project in Downtown Montpelier starting March 17 aims to separate stormwater from sanitary sewer system, preventing overflows during heavy rains. Concerns from business owners about economic disruption, but also acknowledgment of project necessity. Excavation on State Street to last through June 2025.
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Main Street, Downtown Montpelier, Vt.
Downtown Montpelier, Vt., is beginning a major construction project on State Street.
The effort, expected to last through June 2025, will extend northwest from the intersection of State and Main streets to the Rialto Bridge over the Winooski River on State Street.
Its goal is to separate stormwater coming from East State Street out of the sanitary sewer system, which contributes to combined sewer overflows during heavy rain, said Justin LaPerle, engineer of the Montpelier department of public works (DPW).
Since no existing stormwater outfalls are large enough to handle runoff from East State Street, the project will create a new outlet, LaPerle said in an interview with the Montpelier Bridge, a Central Vermont online news site, for an article published March 10, 2025.
State Street will only be open to westbound traffic, heading toward the Vermont Statehouse, between Main and Elm streets, for several months. Because of the fluid nature of construction projects, the city does not want to put a specific date on the return of two-way traffic.
The Bridge reported that State Street business owners understand the project is necessary but are nevertheless concerned about the potential for economic disruption.
The work was first announced to the state capital city's business community at a Montpelier Business Association (MBA) meeting in December 2024, said Lauren Parker, the owner of North Branch Café at 41 State St., which she added few people were able to attend "because it's our busiest time."
She also said that Montpelier DPW officials did come to the next regularly scheduled MBA meeting on the first Wednesday of January 2025.
"It was a little shocking," Parker said of the project's announcement. "It's the first that any of us had heard of it."
According to LaPerle, though, "This project was identified in the city's Long Term Control Plan (published in 2019), which outlines projects needed for combined sewage overflow reduction."
In addition, he told the Bridge that for the past several months, updates on the design, bid and award process have been shared in the DPW's weekly newsletter and that its staff met with business owners shortly after the construction bids came in.
Moreover, LaPerle said details concerning car and pedestrian traffic could not be shared until the contractor was chosen. Increased workloads around 2023's devastating floods in the area also caused the project to be delayed for a year.
The work downtown project has already been pushed back two weeks by the contractor, Hebert Excavation in Williamstown, Vt., to allow for building inspections of structures potentially impacted by the construction, according to a Feb. 24 e-mail from the Montpelier DPW to the Bridge.
Those inspections, which will be coordinated by city staff members but performed by Vermont Testing, were planned to occur the week of March 10, 2025, the city agency announced earlier in the month.
State Street to Be Partially Excavated
In the beginning stages of the work on State Street, crews will be on site to install fencing, erect signage and begin saw-cutting the pavement. This will ultimately result in a large pit, running parallel to traffic flow, approximately 50-ft. long, 28-ft. wide and 16-ft. deep, according to LaPerle.
Based on information from the contractors, he said the affected section of State Street will be closed entirely to vehicle traffic from April 7 to April 11, 2025, the only complete vehicular closure between Main and Elm streets scheduled for the entire effort.
Excavation and coring behind the Rialto Bridge abutment will start the week of March 24, 2025, followed by sheet pile installation around the perimeter of the pit beginning March 31, 2025, and through the week of April 7, 2025, LaPerle added, starting first on the southern side near the Positive Pie eatery and proceeding counterclockwise to the northern side of State Street near the Capitol Grounds Café.
From inside of the pit, piping will then be pushed toward the intersection of State and Main streets and a trench also will be excavated from the pit to the Rialto Bridge.
Sidewalk access will remain open for the duration of the construction project, except for temporary closures when sheet piles are lifted into the air.
"This is for everyone's safety," said LaPerle.
Business Owners Are of Two Minds About Street Work
Parker acknowledged that the city faced its own logistical constraints, which affected communication with the public.
"To be fair," she said, "they're working hard on this … they didn't know until they were able to work this out with the contractors. They didn't know if this would [happen in 2025] or next year. Until they knew what the story was going to be, they couldn't really tell us."
Parker added that just the thought of construction on the street has been frustrating to many business owners, but "we know it needs to be done."
In addition, she is working with others in the State Street business community to secure free parking for the duration of the construction project, although Parker said she is not yet prepared to announce any specifics in speaking with the Montpelier news source.
"It's going to be quite the project," added Jenny Sebold, owner of two different shops on State Street. "We're already having a hard enough time as it is rebounding from the floods and people not wanting to come downtown."
While noting that DPW and other city officials are doing their best, Sebold expressed frustration with the lack of communication surrounding the project.
She noted that her floral business — through phone and online orders, weddings and deliveries — has a cushion against a potential drop in the amount of walk-in traffic as a result of the street construction.
"That has me hopeful that we won't get completely shellacked," she said. "But I'm worried."
Shannon Bates, who owns Enna, a café and gelato shop at 14 State St. sporting a sign that reads "Thanks DPW," said that most of her customers walk over from nearby offices.
In speaking the Bridge, Bates said that her café will be fine as long as the State Street project is completed on schedule in June, but if it were to continue into July and August, during the height of the tourist season, it could cause problems.
"We don't know for sure how the project is going to affect our business," she said. "I do believe, though, the whole community and the city will support us if it does. That has been proven."
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