MIDDLEBURY — The demolition of the bridge over the railroad on Middlebury’s Main Street is scheduled to begin this Thursday, marking the resumption of work to install temporary bridges where the rails pass under Main Street and Merchants Row.
This phase will result in the closing Thursday of Main Street between the crosswalk connecting Triangle Park to the National Bank of Middlebury and the crosswalk connecting the village green to the Post Office. This section of Main Street will be closed for the next two weeks, until Saturday, Aug. 5
Car and truck drivers, as well as pedestrians, will be able to travel through downtown on Merchants Row until next Thursday, July 27. Then Merchants Row will also be closed from Thursday, July 27 through Aug. 12. Also next Thursday the closure of Main Street will be extended from Merchants Row to Bakery Lane.
That means that between July 27 and Aug. 5, there will be no thorough traffic downtown.
Temporary bridges will be installed at both locations and remain in place for the next three or more years while rail, drainage and other infrastructure improvements are made. Ultimately, a tunnel will house the railroad tracks from Merchants Row to Main Street.
Main Street is scheduled to reopen on Aug. 5, and Merchants Row will reopen on Aug. 12. The Cross Street Bridge and Pulp Mill Bridge will be the two ways to cross the Otter Creek and get from the east side of town to the west side of town between July 27-Aug. 4, while both temporary bridges are under construction. Detour signs will direct traffic away from the central downtown.