Vermont Route279 (VT279), often referred to as the Bennington Bypass, is a freeway bypass of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, in the United States. It extends for roughly 6.7 miles (10.8km) from the New York state line northwest of Bennington to an intersection with VT9 east of the downtown district. At its west end, VT279 connects to New York State Route915G (NY915G), an unsigned reference route leading to New York State Route 7 (NY7) in Hoosick, New York.
The section of VT279 west of U.S. Route7 (US7) officially opened to traffic in 2004; however, portions of the route have been open in some capacity since the 1970s. An extension of VT279 southeast to VT9 was completed in 2012.
Past VT67A, the bypass widens to four lanes and becomes a divided highway as it passes over VT7A and approaches a complex interchange with US7. The route briefly overlaps with the freeway before continuing eastward as a two-lane highway toward the western edge of Green Mountain National Forest. After 1 mile (1.6km), VT279 turns southward, loosely paralleling the forest's west boundary as it bypasses the northeastern section of downtown Bennington. The route crosses the Roaring Branch of the Walloomsac River before ending at a half-completed single-point urban interchange (SPUI) with VT9 east of downtown.[3]
History
Approaching VT9 on VT279 eastbound
The four-lane portion of VT279 between VT67A and US7 was built in the early 1970s[4] and designated VT67A Connector in 1974.[5] However, construction did not begin on the remainder of the route west of VT67A (including the short continuation into Hoosick, New York) until the early 2000s.[4] Work on the bypass concluded with the opening of VT279 on October12, 2004.[2] The number "279" was chosen because it provides a bypass for both US7 and VT9.[6]
Split of US 7 northbound and VT 279 westbound in Bennington
Construction on an extension of VT279 southeast to VT9 began in July 2007. The highway was built as a two-lane undivided roadway, similar to that constructed between Hoosick and Bennington.[7] It was officially opened on August30, 2012, and cost roughly $70million to build.[8] Construction plans for the northern segment called for the existing interchange between US7 and VT279 to be reconfigured to accommodate a welcome center located within the exit[7] that was completed and officially opened on October 11, 2013.[9]
Exit list
This list includes VT279's continuation into New York as NY915G. All exits are unnumbered.
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