ESSEX, Vt. (WCAX) – The first part of a long-planned project was completed on this day in history.
State and local officials, including former U.S. Senator Robert Stafford, gathered in Essex for the grand opening of the first phase of the circumferential highway.
“I’m delighted to see the first segment of this highway is now complete. Having started this in motion in 1982, I’m glad I lived long enough to actually see it underway,” said Stafford.
The four-mile section of highway provided a bypass of the busy Five Corners, but it would be the only part of the 16-mile ring road to ever be built. After many delays and legal battles, the project was cancelled in 2011.
