5/4/26
Preliminary design has officially kicked off. As part of preliminary design, the geotechnical engineering subconsultant will be on site soon conducting their geotechnical investigations, including borings and geophysical testing. This will likely require some traffic control and lane closures to complete the work. They currently plan to start the week of 5/18. Jeb Pittsinger from Mott MacDonald is the lead geotechnical engineer for the project. Dig Safe should be occurring early this week. The subconsultant Hager Richter will be onsite Friday May 8th to perform some geophysical testing. This is a technique that uses radar from the ground surface to determine bedrock elevations. This will be performed off the roadway and will not impede traffic or pedestrians. They will be accessing the river below the bridge.
We will begin boring operations Monday May 18th and will be onsite for approximately 5 days.
We are working with the drilling subcontractor to provide traffic control. The intent is to occupy a shoulder and single lane so traffic can be flagged around the drilling operation.
On Tuesday December 2nd, 2025, Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) held a public meeting at Wilmington Town Hall to discuss the 2029 bridge replacement. The recording can be viewed on Youtube.
State Highway Bridge Project:
- WILMINGTON BF 010-1(58), VT Route 9, Bridge 31 over the North Branch of Deerfield River
12-2-25 VTrans Presentation Summary
Resources:
A copy of the Scoping Report for this project is available online at: https://outside.vermont.gov/agency/vtrans/external/Projects/Structures/22b394
Initial presentation has been uploaded to our VTrans projects page: https://outside.vermont.gov/agency/vtrans/external/Projects/Structures/22B394