Interstate 189 Vermont
Overview

Interstate 189 is the lone branch route for I-89. The freeway spur connects U.S. 7 (Shelburne Road) with Interstate 89, Dorsett Street and Kennedy Drive north to Burlington International Airport (BTV).
History
Interstate 189 opened to traffic from I-89 west to U.S. 7 on November 29, 1962. The freeway was originally planned to connect with the Burlington Belt Line Highway as part of the 1965 Greater Burlington Urban Area Highway Plan. Serving industrial areas and Downtown Burlington, the Belt Line was proposed south from Burlington to U.S. 7 and north along the Lake Champlain waterfront. Northern reaches of the expressway extended along Winooksi Valley Parkway (Vermont 127) toward the Colchester town line. Despite right of way acquisition already made, plans for the expressway succumbed to adamant neighborhood opposition and a resurgence in the city economy. They were subsequently cancelled.
Route Information
East End – South Burlington, VT
West End – Burlington, VT
Mileage – 1.49
Cities – Burlington, South Burlington
- Junctions –
Source: December 31, 2018 Interstate Route Log and Finders List
I-189 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)
Location | Vehicles per day |
---|---|
US 7 to I-89 | 33,927 |
Source: 2019 (Route Log) AADTs – Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)


Southern Connector
The Southern Connector was proposed as a four-lane boulevard by a consultant for the city of Burlington in 1974. Generally following the former Belt Line route north from I-189 and U.S. 7 to Pine Street at Flynn Avenue, the Southern Connector also outlined expanding Pine Street north to Pine Place, where it would shift northwest to connect with Battery Street in the Central Business District.1
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared for the Southern Connector starting in 1976. Subsurface geotechnical borings in the vicinity of the Pine Street Barge Canal recorded in the 1977 DEIS revealed oil-contaminated soil along the projected right of way. Coal gasification waste was also recorded during project development. The Pine Street Barge Canal area was subsequently included in the Environnmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites. It was identified as the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund Site in October 1981.1
The Final EIS (FEIS) for the Southern Connector was completed in July 1979 and approved by the FHWA. The Selected Alternative included a half mile long segment of roadway (Section C-1). Section C-1 was constructed in the late 1980s northwest from the I-189/U.S. 7 exchange across Pine Street to Home Avenue in the South End neighborhood of Burlington. Work on Section C-2 (Home Avenue to Lakeside Avenue) and C-8 (Lakeside Avenue to Battery Street) never broke ground due to the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund Site.1
Studies in the late 1980s looked at route alternatives that would bypass the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund Site. The project was rebranded Champlain Parkway by Burlington City Council in the 1990s. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) was conducted by VTrans and FHWA from January 1995 to February 1997. It selected a preferred interim alternative that avoided the superfund site. FHWA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on the Selected Alternative in August 1997.1
Envisioned to provide traffic relief between the City Center District (CCD) and South Burlington, construction on Champlain Parkway was pushed back from a potential late 2019 start date while a Limited Scope Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (LS DSEIS) was completed. Barring any requested changes, FHWA could issue a Record of Decision (ROD) on the project by the end of 2020. Costing $43 million, the two-lane, at-grade roadway will run north from Home Avenue over Batchelder and Briggs Streets to Flynn Avenue, then follow a new terrain alignment to Lakeside Avenue.2
Highway Guides
East End
/ Dorset St and Kennedy Dr – South Burlington, Vermont
East at
South at
North at
Throwback
West End
– Burlington, Vermont
West at
North at
South at
Sources:
- Champlain Parkway – Project History. City of Burlington, project web site.
- “Champlain Parkway construction could begin this year.” WCAX (Burlington, VT), January 5, 2019.
Page updated October 31, 2020.