DATE: Friday, September 4, 2026

PROJECT UPDATE: Vermont’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at I-89 Exit 16 in Colchester is designed to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and enhance safety for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians along the U.S. Routes 2/7 corridor, with traffic scheduled to transition to the new traffic pattern in the coming weeks.

The new traffic pattern briefly shifts vehicles to the left side of the roadway as they travel through the interchange, allowing drivers turning left onto interstate entrance ramps to do so without crossing oncoming traffic. Click here to see step by step how to navigate the new interchange.

This weekend is your last chance to test drive the DDI at the Champlain Valley Fair! Join us, today, Friday, September 4, through Sunday, September 6, in the North Expo of the Robert E Miller Expo Centre. 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Please be advised that crews will be off-site starting at noon today, Friday, September 4, in observance of Labor Day. Work is expected to resume as early as Monday, September 7, at 7 p.m.

TRAFFIC IMPACT AND DURATION: Nightly, starting the evening of Monday, September 7, through the morning of Friday, September 11, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., unless otherwise noted:

• Lane closures along alternating sides of U.S. Route 2/7 (U.S. 2/7), between South Park Drive and Mountain View Drive, with two-way traffic maintained through traffic shifts onto the open side of the roadway.
• Intermittent width reductions and traffic shifts on South Park Drive, the Interstate 89 (I-89) Ramps, and Mountain View Drive. Traffic will be maintained.

Daily, starting the morning of Tuesday, September 8, through the afternoon on Friday, September 11, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. unless otherwise noted:

• Periodic outermost lane closures on either side of U.S. 2/7 between South Park Drive and Mountain View Drive. Two-way traffic will be maintained.
• Single lane closure on alternating sides of U.S. 2/7 between Rathe Road and Hercules Drive. Two-way traffic will be maintained.

Motorists should slow down, use caution, and follow traffic control personnel's instructions and signage. In addition, motorists should expect significant delays when traveling through the work zone and along adjacent roadways. Please plan additional travel time or consider alternative routes.

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES: Nighttime work this week will take place between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., starting the evening of Monday, September 7, through the morning of Friday, September 11. Crews will continue completing work between South Park Drive and Mountain View Drive in preparation for switching traffic over to the new traffic pattern at the Exit 16 interchange this month, including paving and line striping and pavement marking installation. Line striping and pavement marking installation will take place along Route 2/7 just north and south of the crossover locations and along the Interstate ramps. These activities are weather dependent.

Daytime work will take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., starting the morning of Tuesday, September 8, through the afternoon on Friday, September 11. Crews will continue constructing sidewalk and stamped concrete and installing curb along both sides of U.S. 2/7 between South Park Drive and Mountain View Drive and conducting repairs to the piers of the I-89 overpass bridges. East Coast Signals will be on-site completing signal work at the traffic signals for the Diverging Diamond Interchange between South Park Drive and Mountain View Drive. Additionally, crews will prep for future drainage work along U.S. 2/7 between Rathe Road and Hercules Drive.

Crews work to construct the new diverging diamond interchange at Exit 16. 

LOCATION: U.S. Routes 2/7 in Colchester starting at the Winooski town line and continuing north for 1.05 miles to Sunderland Woods Road.

PROJECT COMPLETION: Contract 1: Fall 2023 | Contract 2: Summer 2027

NEARBY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:

City of Winooski Main Street Revitalization Project

• Project Area: Main Street in Winooski, between the railroad bridge near Maple Street and the Colchester town line near Checkerbay Carwash
• Next week: Crews will be off-site on Monday for Labor Day. The rest of the week, crews will finish fence and vault screen installation, brick paver installation, minor remaining streetlighting and signal infrastructure installation activities, general clean up, site restoration, and punch list work throughout the project limits.   
• Traffic Impacts:
• Tuesday – Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM | Main Street within the project limits will have shoulder closures, lane shifts, and on-street parking restrictions. There is potential for intermittent side street closures, including West Spring Street at its Main Street intersection.
• Project website
• Construction: Spring 2024 – Summer 2026

This video provides an overview of the Exit 16 DDI project, discusses the benefits of the Diverging Diamond Interchange design, and demonstrates how drivers, cyclists and pedestrians will navigate the new traffic pattern coming to Colchester, VT.

Watch now!

VTrans is committed to providing a comprehensive and robust communications and public outreach program as part of this project. 

The project website has been upgraded to include a translation feature with the ability to automatically translate website content into 11 languages. 

In addition, the website is now home to a translated materials tab which includes several frequently asked questions and answers that have been translated into 11 languages with help from trained interpreters and translators from AALV in Burlington, Vermont. 

View now!



CONTACT US:

Project Hotline: 802-595-4399

Project email address: info@Exit16DDI.vtransprojects.vermont.gov