Friday, April 21, 2006

WORK IN PROGRESS

The picture on the left is from Homer Fitts's driveway of the new cottage his daughter Sue and her husband, Eric Martin are building. The old cottage was torn down last fall and as soon as weather permitted, Trent Fenoff and Nate Hale (Fenoff & Hale Construction in Danville, VT.) started work. Last week there was only the cement work done, and wn I was there on Monday this week, the plumber was finishing up making necessary connections, etc. Today when I visited I was amazed to see four walls in place. This is post and beam construction and goes together quickly, as Nate said, "Not bad, four walls in two days!" I went inside for a closer look. As usual, the wind was blowing, but it seemed to simply skim over my head and the rock-solid walls. There are no windows cut out yet, and only one door, but the progress is impressive.

On Barre Avenue, Sue and Steve Quatrini are doing some work on their cottage. Looks like they are replacing the roof.

Here's news for commuters to the Barre-Montpelier area.

Route 2 from Rt. 232 (Groton State Forest Road) to Hollister Hill Rd. in Marshfield just east of Plainfield village, is going to be under construction throughout the summer. According to a recent press release, work is expected to continue through the second week in October. Existing pavement will be ground away and the highway will be resurfaced with new pavement markings and guardrails installed. This is an eight mile stretch of highway and motorists should expect delays. Traffic will be slowed and posted speed limits strictly enforced. It is expected traffic flow will be maintained throughout the construction period, but you should allow extra time to get where you're going or seek an alternate route.

From Joe's Pond area, about the only hard-surfaced alternate route would be Rt. 15 to Hardwick and then Rt. 14 through Woodbury, East Calais and North Montpelier. You would rejoin Rt. 2 in East Montpelier. Or, seek out some of the picturesque back roads out of Cabot, for instance, Ducharme Rd. off Rt. 215 (Hillcrest Nursery road) in Lower Cabot. About 5 miles on Ducharme Rd you'll turn right onto Marshfield Rd about a mile from East Calais on Rt. 14. Then it's about 6 miles to E. Montpelier. This would save a few miles and be a very pleasant drive.

The delays probably won't be too long, and getting that road resurfaced will be a real car-saver. This winter the road has become a series of bumps and potholes, and unless you reduce your speed dramatically, your car takes a real serious pounding. Makes us glad we're retired and don't have to travel that road daily.

With gas prices soaring, perhaps ride sharing would be a good idea. At least you'd have someone to chat with while you're sitting in line waiting to move on.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Glad you're using more pictures. Thanks

10:57 PM, April 21, 2006

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