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Select Board gives concurrence to move Depot Street bridge project into final design
Summary
VTrans and consultant Hoyle Tanner briefed the Jamaica Select Board on plans to replace the 1926 Depot Street (Bridge 32) truss with a new steel‑girder bridge. The board voted unanimously to let the project proceed to final design; construction is federally funded and estimated at $7.5 million with construction targeted for 2030–2032.
VTrans project manager Gary LaRoche and Hoyle Tanner project manager Kelly Levine presented plans for the Depot Street bridge replacement to the Jamaica Select Board on July 13, outlining design choices, traffic management and schedule. The proposed replacement removes the 1926 steel truss and installs a new steel‑girder bridge with a 12‑foot travel lane, shoulders and guardrail. The construction cost estimate is $7,500,000 and the project is 100% federally funded through IIJA allocations.
"This project's in the design phase now; we've completed preliminary plans and will move into final design with property owner outreach and environmental permitting," Gary LaRoche said. Kelly Levine explained that the temporary traffic arrangement will use an upstream temporary bridge rated to HL‑93 so legal loads, including loaded timber trucks and standard tractor‑trailers, can cross during construction. She also recommended metallized (zinc) coatings for girders to reduce life‑cycle maintenance, and showed stamped‑concrete abutment treatments meant to resemble the historic stonework.
Board members pressed staff and the presenters on schedule and town maintenance responsibilities. Levine gave a program timeline: final plans expected by April 2027, contract plans and advertisement in fall 2029, and construction targeted to start in spring 2030 with a 2–3 year construction window (the presenters said three years is the current estimate with work to shorten the schedule possible). LaRoche emphasized the funding mechanism: the project is programmed in an IIJA funding queue and the construction line is already in that program, but environmental reviews and right‑of‑way work are on the project's critical path.
Chair (speaker 1) moved that the board concur with the preliminary plans and allow the team to proceed to final design. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no objections. Following the vote, LaRoche said the town remains responsible for long‑term bridge maintenance after construction and that the design choices (metallized girders, bare concrete deck) were selected to reduce long‑term expense for the town.
Next steps: VTrans/Hoyle Tanner will begin the right‑of‑way and permitting steps needed for final design, continue outreach to adjacent property owners, and return with refined plans and permitting timelines for the board’s review.
