Commission approves Route 15 paving amendment and adopts FY26–29 Transportation Improvement Program
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Summary
At its Oct. 15 meeting the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission approved a minor TIP amendment to add funds for Route 15 paving and adopted the FY26–29 TIP; the board also certified the planning process for the TIP.
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission board of directors voted Oct. 15 to approve a minor amendment to the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to add funds for paving on Route 15 and to adopt the FY26–29 TIP.
The amendment adds funds for paving work on Route 15 between the Winooski city line and Susie Wilson Road (Colchester to Essex). Christine Ford, transportation planner, described the change as a “minor TIP amendment to add funds to the Route 15 paving” and said the increase — about 24% of the project cost — reflects added preparatory work for a future signal project and a change in pavement design. Ford said the project is ready to be bid for construction and that bidding will occur before the end of the month; she estimated construction would likely begin next spring.
Board members then considered the FY26–29 TIP, a fiscally constrained list of projects that must be included for any project using federal highway funds. Christine Ford summarized the four-year program as totaling roughly $308–309 million across 76 projects, with the largest single category being transit funding (including FTA grants that fund Green Mountain Transit). The TIP categories include sidewalks and paths, bridge preservation, intermodal (park-and-ride), major roadway upgrades, paving (11 paving projects), corridor improvements, safety/traffic operations, ITS/intersection work, stormwater/environmental projects and transit.
The board voted unanimously, among those present and voting, to approve the Route 15 TIP amendment and later voted unanimously to adopt the FY26–29 TIP. The board also voted unanimously to certify the regional planning process and authorized the chair to sign the certification letter.
Why it matters: projects that use federal highway or transit funds must be included on the TIP before that work can proceed. Adding the Route 15 funds clears a near-term paving project to be bid; adopting the FY26–29 TIP sets the programming for dozens of county projects over the next four years.
A note about timing and next steps: Ford said the Route 15 contract will be bid before the end of the month and estimated the work would begin next spring; specific start dates will depend on the bid schedule and contractor availability.
