Category Archives: Traffic

News about traffic, accidents, weather and roads.

Slippery roads cause crashes; Route 4 in Castleton closed but reopens

Rob Mitchell / Staff Photo Rutland Police responded to this car into a telephone pole on Woodstock Avenue in Rutland Wednesday morning, when a light snowfall made roads slippery.

Rob Mitchell / Staff Photo
Rutland Police responded to this car into a telephone pole on Woodstock Avenue in Rutland Wednesday morning, when a light snowfall made roads slippery.

 

Slippery roads have caused crashes around the state this morning, as an accident closed Route 4 West in Castleton, and a Red Cross Bloodmobile went off the road on I-89 in Royalton when a car merged in front of it and slowed down too quickly, state police said.

Vermont State Police photo This Red Cross Bloodmobile went off I-89 when a smaller car merged in front of it and slowed down.

Vermont State Police photo
This Red Cross Bloodmobile went off I-89 when a smaller car merged in front of it and slowed down.

 

 

Truck crash closes I-91 Northbound at exit 6 - Photos

State police have closed I-91 north due to a tractor trailer accident involving several vehicles, sending at least two people to the hospital.  Fire crews scrambled to extricate the car’s occupant.

Photos by Len Emery A tractor-trailor loaded with transformers crashed with a car on Interstate 91 in Springfield around 7 a.m. and sent at least two people to the hospital.

Photos by Len Emery
A tractor-trailor loaded with transformers crashed with a car on Interstate 91 in Springfield around 7 a.m. and sent at least two people to the hospital.

lemery_2-21_I-91-truckcar_1

lemery_2-21_I-91-truckcar_2lemery_2-21_I-91-truckcar_3lemery_2-21_I-91-truckcar_4

Slick roads cause crashes around Rutland

Slick roads caused several slide offs and crashes this morning around Rutland and along Route 4 towards Castleton. State police also warned of slick roads and some accidents in both Chittenden and Franklin counties. About 3 inches of light snow fell overnight.

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo  A pickup truck went off the road along Route 4 near Exit 5 in Castleton Monday morning.

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo
A pickup truck went off the road along Route 4 near Exit 5 in Castleton Monday morning.

 

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo  Slippery roads caused multiple vehicle accidents on Route 4 near Exit 5 on Monday morning.

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo
Slippery roads caused multiple vehicle accidents on Route 4 near Exit 5 on Monday morning. Three cars were off the road within about 500 feet of each other.

Free range: Cows loose on Interstate 89 this morning.

COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — The cows are back home.
Vermont State Police say at least several cows escaped from their farm in Colchester near the Winooski border early Tuesday and made it onto Interstate 89.
Officers responded to the area of Exit 16 on the northbound side of the interstate at about 3:15 a.m. They cautioned drivers to be careful.
About an hour later, police said any cows found on the interstate were removed, but there was concern that the entire herd was not accounted for.
Police said by about 5:30 a.m., the farmer advised that all of the cows were present after re-checking his herd count.
No accidents were reported.

Tractor-trailer crash snarls traffic on I-89

COLCHESTER — Vermont State Police say a tractor-trailer crash on southbound Interstate 89 backed up morning traffic for a while.
The accident happened Wednesday morning near Colchester.
State police say the accident happened south of Exit 17. Traffic at one point was backed up all the way past the exit.
The accident scene was cleaned up and traffic started flowing normally by about 7:30 a.m.
The details of the accident weren’t immediately known or whether anyone was hurt.

Gas prices rise a bit in Vermont

Average gasoline prices in Vermont rose 2.3 cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $3.53 a gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 626 gas outlets in the state.

The national average increased 1 cent a gallon in the last week to $3.51 a gallon.

Prices were 38.2 cents a gallon lower than the same day a year ago and 13.1 cents a gallon lower than a month ago.

The national average price has fallen 7.8 cents a gallon during the last month and is 26.8 cents a gallon lower than a year ago.

“The national average has begun to tip-toe higher in the last week, led by states in the Great Lakes and West Coast, where gasoline prices have crept up considerably in some areas over the last week,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst. “Oil prices have rebounded, and with the recent strength in stocks trickling over to commodities, I do expect retail gasoline prices to inch up in the weeks ahead.”

GasBuddy operates VermontGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at more than 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.

Hartland prepping for multiple bridge repairs

HARTLAND — The Vermont community of Hartland will be undergoing $2 million in bridge repairs.
Lead paint removal is planned along the Route 5 bridge. One of the bridges also will get a new deck; concrete has been falling onto railroad tracks below.
The projects are expected to re-route traffic off Route 5 for two to three weeks in the summer of 2014.
A public meeting on the projects is planned for May 14 at the Hartland Town Hall.

Boston cab stopped on I-89 not connected to bombings, police say

By ERIC FRANCIS | CORRESPONDENT
WILLISTON – A cab from Boston that was driving slowly up Interstate 89 through Vermont on Friday morning aroused some suspicions but Vermont State Police who stopped it said nothing turned out to be amiss.
       “We got a call from a motorist traveling north on I-89 in the Sharon area who reported seeing a Boston cab traveling 40-to-45 miles an hour in the passing lane and, given what’s going on right now (in Boston), they called it in,” Captain Glenn Hall of the Williston State Police Barracks explained.
       “We came in contact with that cab up in the Williston area.  We spoke with the driver and there is no indication of any connection,” to the massive manhunt underway in the Boston area overnight for suspects involved in Monday’s bombing of the crowd watching the Boston Marathon, Captain Hall said.
       The cab had apparently picked up a fare at Logan Airport and driven them to the Burlington area and was already heading south back down Interstate 89 when police pulled it over shortly before 8 a.m., letting the driver continue on his way after a short conversation with police.
       Captain Hall and another Homeland Security official said Friday morning that so far there have been no alerts to Vermont authorities indicating that anyone related to the bombings might be headed this way.
       “We hadn’t gotten any information beforehand to be on the lookout for anything (like a cab) but obviously with what is going on we are vigilant,” Captain Hall said, adding, “We will certainly check out anything that people call in as suspicious.”

Town gets $250k for sidewalks

PUTNEY — The Vermont town of Putney is getting $250,000 for sidewalk improvements after years of discussions.
The town is receiving the funds from the Agency of Transportation for the project, which seeks to extend a walkway up Route 5 toward Landmark College.
Earlier this year, Putney completed a four-year project to upgrade about a mile of sidewalk from Town Hall to the Putney Co-op.
The Brattleboro Reformer reports (http://bit.ly/ZBCl5d) a state-sponsored park and ride also has been approved for the town.
Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard said the projects, located on the south and north ends of the village, will make it safer and easier to cut down on automobile use. Work on both could start within the next two years.

“There is no ‘there’, there”: Vermont town denied highway sign

DUMMERSTON — Interstate 91 runs through Dummerston, and one of the exits is within its boundaries. But town officials still can’t get a mention of the town on a highway sign. 
State highway officials denied the request.
Traffic Operations Engineer Amy Gamble said it’s not unusual to omit town names from highway signs. She says judgment calls are made as to the primary destinations a traveler might access from an exit or what will help them orient themselves as to their location.
She told Select Board members that while U.S. 5 does indeed pass through town, there is no ‘dot on the map’ for Dummerston itself and neighboring villages. She added that from the driver’s perspective, “there is no there, there.”
Town officials say they’re both amused and frustrated.