Environmental lawyer James Dumont said the state has failed to comply with federal law and has ignored lower-cost alternatives that would have less impact on the environment and historic resources.
Everyone agrees the state-owned bridges on Merchants Row and Main Street downtown need to be replaced or fixed. The town and state have been discussing the issue for more than 20 years, and the work is key to restoring passenger rail service in western Vermont. However, there are deep divisions within the community over the size and scope of the project.
The state has proposed replacing the bridges with a 340-foot tunnel that would expand the village green and increase clearance by lowering the rails several feet to allow for the passage of double-stacked freight cars. The lowering of the rails would require blasting out the bedrock below the tracks and expanding the rail line’s width.
Under the Agency of Transportation’s accelerated bridge program, preparation and construction is expected to take about four years, according to Jim Gish, the local project liaison for the town of Middlebury. For 10 weeks in the summer of 2019 — year three of construction — most of the downtown area would be inaccessible by car but open to pedestrians.
Doug Anderson, executive director of the Town Hall Theater, said the construction will affect area businesses in different ways. Neither he nor the theater joined Dumont’s action.
Under the current plan, Anderson said, business operators would have time to prepare for the 10 weeks of construction in 2019. Still, he acknowledged that not everyone was in the same boat. The theater, for example, has evening hours, whereas most businesses are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The plan as we understand it now is something that we think will allow us to survive,” he said.
Selectboard member Nick Artim said the new plan will have far less impact on the downtown streetscape than previous plans since most of the work during the first two years will be carried out below street level.
“The town realizes there’s going to be an element of pain associated with this, but the job has to be done,” he said.
Cost estimates for the construction have ranged from $45 million to $55 million. Rebuilding the bridges and in particular improving the track in Middlebury is necessary before restoring passenger rail service between Rutland and Burlington, a goal the state has committed to by 2020 or 2021. In October 2007 an 18-car freight train derailed in Middlebury, spilling gasoline into Otter Creek.
At a public meeting at the Middlebury Town Hall on Thursday, the Transportation Agency will present an update on the plan and the timeline.
“I think it’s going to be an opportunity to hear some straight talk about the project from VTrans and for the residents of the community to judge firsthand what the plan and timeline looks like and what they think its impact on the town will be,” said Gish.
“It’s time for VTrans to shine,” Artim said. “I think they’re going to be up to the task.”
Gish said the town and the Transportation Agency entered into a new agreement in October that transferred ownership of the project back to the state. But the Selectboard still has the opportunity to review and comment on all design plans, timelines and potential impacts. Since the Selectboard approved the agreement, Gish has facilitated meetings between area business owners and the agency to review the plan and provide feedback.
“I think there’s still a voice in the community that wants to make sure we’re minimizing the impact on downtown,” said Gish. “And there’s some disagreement about how that should be done. I think the Dumont letter crystallizes some of the arguments against the plan.”
While declining to say how many businesses had signed on to his letter, Dumont said that “there are many, many business owners in Middlebury who are afraid this project is going to put them out of business.”
George Dorsey is the owner of Edgewater Gallery in Middlebury and an outspoken opponent of the current plan. Dumont said Dorsey and the gallery are among his clients.
Dorsey said the bridges could be repaired quickly at a cost of about $4 million and that larger questions regarding accommodation of freight rail could be addressed later.
“We’ve asked for the state to fix bridges in a totally safe manner at grade with no digging,” he said. “Then they can figure out the big plan.”
Dorsey has also been sharply critical of the Selectboard for holding contractual discussions in executive session even though this is standard practice. “The Selectboard has been conducting this business behind closed doors,” he said.
Board Chair Brian Carpenter said contract discussions are almost always held in closed session so the board doesn’t reveal its negotiating strategy. However, he pointed out it was not a decision on the elements of the project itself, which will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting.
The state did conduct an analysis of various alternatives in July 2013 but concluded that impacts on historic resources, rivers and streams, and endangered species would be the same regardless of whether a tunnel was constructed or the bridges repaired. Dumont argues that this conclusion is flawed and that there are feasible alternatives, including a bypass around the center of town. According to him the state’s analysis is “out of date, incomplete and unreasonable.”
“Since prudent and feasible alternatives do exist,” Dumont wrote to the Transportation Agency, “if the lawfully required procedures are followed, we expect that the project will not receive approval for federal funding.”
The state has argued that “moving the railroad would create unacceptable impacts to existing buildings, historic resources and would have unreasonable costs.”
Transportation Secretary Chris Cole has acknowledged receiving Dumont’s letter.
“We have nothing to add at this time,” Cole said in an email to VTDigger. “We are reviewing the concerns outlined in the letter to determine the legal risk to the project and will respond once that analysis is complete.”
Gish, who meets with agency representatives every week, said they were taking the letter very seriously and had to vet it with the U.S. attorney’s office and representatives of the Federal Highway Administration.
Dumont said the key issue is bridge safety and making sure the repairs are done quickly and in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.
Accommodating heavier freight traffic, he said, was not a priority.
“Why should we assume the need for double-stacked freight cars to go to Burlington?” he said.
Dumont’s letter sets up the possibility that legal action will be taken if Dorsey and others are not satisfied with the state’s response.
“Talk about risks to the project,” said Gish, “that’s a big one.”
“We want this project done,” Artim said. “Anything that’s going to delay it is not going to be viewed favorably.”
