U.S. Route 7 in Vermont

U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south highway extending from southern Connecticut to the northernmost part of Vermont. In Vermont, the route extends for 176 miles (283 km) along the western side of the state as a mostly two-lane rural road, with the exception of an expressway section between Bennington and East Dorset. US 7 is known as the Ethan Allen Highway for its entire length through the state.[1] US 7 ends at an interchange with Interstate 89 (I-89) in the town of Highgate, just south of the Canadian border. I-89 continues to the border crossing.

U.S. Route 7
Ethan Allen Highway[1]
Map of Vermont with US 7 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by VTrans
Length	176.328 mi[2] (283.772 km)
Existed	1926[3]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 7 at the Massachusetts state line in Pownal
	VT 9 in Bennington US 4 in Rutland VT 30 / VT 125 in Middlebury VT 22A in Vergennes I-189 in South Burlington US 2 in Burlington I-89 in Winooski I-89 / US 2 in Colchester I-89 / VT 104A in Georgia I-89 / VT 104 in St Albans I-89 / VT 207 in St Albans
North end	I-89 near Highgate
Location
Counties	Bennington, Rutland, Addison, Chittenden, Franklin
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided State highways in Vermont ← VT 5A → VT 7A

Route description

Original-style Vermont US 7 shield

View north along "Super" US 7 in Sunderland

US 7 crosses the Massachusetts–Vermont state line at Pownal, from where the road heads north to Bennington as a rural two-lane highway. Just north of downtown Bennington, the highway transitions into a limited-access highway. For 3 miles (4.8 km), US 7 is a true expressway with divided carriageways and multiple lanes. The road subsequently narrows down to an undivided two-lane freeway; however, many stretches have passing lanes. This continues to a point just north of Manchester, where US 7 reverts to a surface road.

Most of US 7 between Manchester and the Canadian border is an undivided, uncontrolled road varying in width from two to four lanes. Two divided highway sections also exist: a 10-mile (16 km) section south of Rutland, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) stretch with numerous traffic signals between Shelburne and South Burlington known as Shelburne Road. There is overhead signage at the junction with I-189 in South Burlington that directs northbound trucks onto I-189. While US 7 heads directly into Burlington, I-189 bypasses the city to the south and east and leads directly to I-89, which runs close to US 7 north of Winooski.

Near downtown Burlington, US 7 intersects with US 2; the latter route joins US 7 for more than 9 miles (14 km) to Colchester. From here, US 7 and I-89 run through northern Vermont to Highgate, where US 7 ends at the northernmost exit on I-89.

History

US 7 was assigned in 1926.[3] Interstate 89 was originally envisioned to parallel US-7 from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian frontier. This plan was ultimately cancelled, and I-89 was shifted to its current alignment, turning southeast at Burlington toward Montpelier and White River Junction. Prior to the cancellation of the original I-89 routing, approximately 25 miles (40 km) of freeway (mostly "Super 2" with some four-lane sections) was built in the US-7 corridor between Bennington and Manchester, plus an additional seven miles (11 km) of four-lane highway between Wallingford and Rutland were completed.

Major intersections

County	Location[2]	mi[2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Bennington	Pownal	0.000	0.000		US 7 south – Williamstown, Pittsfield	Massachusetts state line
		1.863	2.998		VT 346 – Pownal, North Pownal	Eastern terminus of VT 346
	Bennington	10.957	17.634		VT 9 (Main St.)
		12.140	19.537		VT 7A north (Northside Dr.) to VT 67A	Southern terminus of VT 7A
		12.236	19.692	South end of freeway section
		13.153	21.168	1 (13)	VT 279 to VT 9 – Brattleboro, Troy NY	Vermont Welcome Center in middle of interchange, brief overlap with VT 279 on outer ramps
		14.393	23.163	2 (14)	VT 7A – Shaftsbury	Access via Bennington North State Highway (VT 9025)
	Sunderland	24.224	38.985	3 (24)	VT 313 to VT 7A – Arlington, Sunderland (north), Shaftsbury (south)	Eastern terminus of VT 313
	Manchester	34.501	55.524	4 (34)	VT 11 / VT 30 to VT 7A – Manchester Center, Manchester	Also serves Dorset and Peru
	North end of freeway section
	Dorset	38.897	62.599		VT 7A south – Manchester Center	Northern terminus of VT 7A
Rutland	Wallingford	56.165	90.389		VT 140 west / VT 140 east – Tinmouth, East Wallingford
		57.054	91.820		VT 7B north	Southern terminus of VT 7B
	Clarendon	58.581	94.277		VT 7B south	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 7B overlap
		59.297	95.429		VT 7B north	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 7B overlap
		61.169	98.442		VT 103 south – Airport, Ludlow	Northern terminus of VT 103
		62.591	100.730		VT 7B – North Clarendon
		63.393	102.021		VT 7B	Northern terminus of VT 7B
	Town of Rutland	63.844	102.747		US 4 west – Fair Haven	Southern terminus of US 4 / US 7 overlap
	City of Rutland	65.944	106.127		US 4 Bus.	Eastern terminus of BR US 4
		66.081	106.347		US 4 east	Northern terminus of US 4 / US 7 overlap
	Pittsford	73.057	117.574		VT 3 south – Proctor	Northern terminus of VT 3
	Community of Brandon	81.656	131.413		VT 73 east (Park St.)	Eastern terminus of US 7 / VT 73 overlap
		82.072	132.082		VT 73 west (Champlain St.)	Western terminus of US 7 / VT 73 overlap
Addison	Salisbury	91.315	146.957		VT 53 south – Lake Dunmore, Forestdale	Northern terminus of VT 53
	Middlebury	94.157	151.531		VT 116 north to VT 125 east – East Middlebury, Snow Bowl Ski Area, Bristol	Southern terminus of VT 116
		94.431	151.972		VT 125 east – East Middlebury, Airport, Ripton	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 125 overlap
		97.067	156.214		VT 125 west – Cornwall, Bridport	western terminus of US 7 / VT 125 overlap
		98.285	158.174		VT 30 south to VT 125 west / VT 23 – Cornwall, Hospital	Northern terminus of VT 30
	New Haven	106.034	170.645		VT 17 east – New Haven, Bristol	Western terminus of US 7 / VT 17 overlap
		106.148	170.829		VT 17 west – Waltham, Bridge to N.Y. State	Eastern terminus of US 7 / VT 17 overlap
	Ferrisburgh	111.511	179.460		VT 22A south – Vergennes	Northern terminus of VT 22A
Chittenden	Charlotte	120.723	194.285		VT F5 west – Charlotte, Ferry to N.Y. State	Eastern terminus of VT F-5
	South Burlington–Burlington line	130.350– 130.626	209.778– 210.222		I-189 to I-89 – Montpelier, St. Albans	Current western terminus of I-189
	Burlington	131.627	211.833		US 7 Alt. (Shelburne Street at South Willard Street)	Southern terminus of ALT US 7
		132.550	213.319		US 2 east	Southern terminus of US 2 / US 7 overlap
		133.490	214.831		US 7 Alt. (Riverside Avenue at Hyde Street)	Northern terminus of ALT US 7
	Winooski	134.793	216.928		VT 15 east to I-89 south – Essex Junction	Western terminus of VT 15; Roundabout
	Colchester	135.804– 135.876	218.555– 218.671		I-89 – Burlington, St. Albans, Champlain Islands	Exit 16 on I-89
		137.620	221.478		VT 127 south	Northern terminus of VT 127
		139.067	223.807		To VT 2A south – Essex Junction	Unsigned VT 127
		139.261	224.119		VT 2A south – Essex Junction	Northern terminus of VT 2A
		142.151	228.770		US 2 west to I-89 – Lake Champlain Islands, New York State	Northern terminus of US 2 / US 7 overlap
Franklin	Georgia	151.526	243.857		VT 104A east – Fairfax	Northern terminus of VT 104A
		151.689– 152.011	244.120– 244.638		I-89 – St. Albans, Montreal, Burlington	Exit 18 on I-89
	City of St. Albans	160.373	258.095		VT 36 east (Fairfield St.)	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 36 overlap
		160.401	258.140		VT 36 west (Lake St.) – St. Albans Bay	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 36 overlap
		160.952	259.027		VT 38 (Lower Newton St.)	Eastern terminus of VT 38
		161.363	259.689		VT 105 east – Sheldon Junction, Enosburg Falls	Western terminus of VT 105
	Town of St. Albans	162.514	261.541		VT 207 north to I-89 – Burlington, Highgate Center, Swanton, Montreal Que.	Southern terminus of VT 207
	Village of Swanton	168.951	271.900		VT 78 east to I-89 – Highgate Center, East Highgate	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 78 overlap
		169.033	272.032		VT 78 west to VT 36 – Alburg, New York State	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 78 overlap
	Highgate	175.963– 176.328	283.185– 283.772		I-89	Exit 22 on I-89
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Suffixed routes

US 7 has two suffixed routes, both of which are old alignments of US 7.

• VT 7A (27.820 miles or 44.772 kilometres) is an alternate route of US 7 between Bennington and Dorset.[2] The route is signed as "Historic VT 7A" to distinguish it, the original routing of US 7, from the modern US 7 limited-access highway.
• VT 7B (6.786 miles or 10.921 kilometres) is an alternate route of US 7 through the towns of Wallingford and Clarendon.[2] VT 7B was the original alignment of US 7 prior to the construction of the current US 7 divided highway through the area. The route intersects US 7 five times (including the termini) and overlaps it for 0.716 miles (1.152 km) in Clarendon.[2]

US 7 Alternate

U.S. Route 7 Alternate
Location	Burlington
Length	2.107 mi[2] (3.391 km)

The original "Alternate US 7" assembly along the short route.

U.S. Route 7 Alternate (ALT US 7) is an alternate route of US 7 in Burlington. The southbound-only US 7 Alternate begins at the intersection of Hyde Street and Riverside Avenue (US 2 and US 7) and runs for a distance of 2.107 miles (3.391 km)[2] in the following manner: west on Riverside Avenue, south on North and South Winooski avenues, south on St. Paul Street, and south on Shelburne Street to its end at US 7 at the rotary-style intersection with South Willard Street (US 7), Locust Street and Ledge Road. Mainline US 7 travels over Hyde Street and North and South Willard streets until the aforementioned intersection.

As of July 2016, there are three "Alternate US 7" assemblies along the route. The original one is located on Saint Paul Street in Burlington, just south of the intersection with South Winooski Avenue and Howard Street, with the newer two on South Winooski Avenue, with one at the intersection with Pearl Street, and the other at Main Street.

References

1. State of Vermont Board of Libraries (April 28, 2008). "Vermont Named State Highways and Bridges" (PDF). Department of Libraries, State of Vermont. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
2. Traffic Research Unit (May 2013). "2012 (Route Log) AADTs for State Highways" (PDF). Policy, Planning and Intermodal Development Division, Vermont Agency of Transportation. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
3. Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via University of North Texas Libraries.

External links

• Media related to U.S. Route 7 in Vermont at Wikimedia Commons