West Dover Village Bridge Overview

I. Intro to the West Dover Village Bridge

II. Why is the West Dover Village Bridge Dangerous?

A. High-Volume, High-Speed Traffic

The section of Route 100 that leads from Wilmington to Dorr Fitch Rd. in Dover is estimated to be the highest traffic section of Route 100 south of Warren, VT, with the only exception being the section that coincides with Route 9 in Wilmington, as shown in the figure below. 

B. Narrow Shoulders

The road crossing the existing bridge has some of the lowest shoulders on any major road in Dover, and at some points of the year, due to snowfall, there are practically no shoulders on the road whatsoever. As the figure below shows, even several days after a moderate snowstorm, there can be as little as 4” of space outside of the edge line. Pedestrians end up walking in the actual lane of traffic.

The picture above was not taken on the worst days, when the road is icy and the snowbanks are large, but several days after a snowstorm. Both images were taken within minutes of one another, and the measurement on the left is approximately where the truck's tire is located on the image on the right. It should be noted that the narrow shoulders are not limited to winter time: one of the more dramatic near-accidents DVPSA members have witnessed, happened during a very hot summer day. We mention more about this below.

C. Limited Visibility

In addition to the high traffic and extremely narrow shoulders on the section of the road beginning at the Dover town line and ending at Dorr Fitch Rd., the limited visibility of the curve enhance its danger. This was apparent at several places in the Dover Landscape Master Plan of 2012, from which the three pictures below are taken. 

There are sharper corners in Deerfield Valley than the corner shown above, but none of them occur on high-speed, high-traffic roads where there is a such a narrow-shouldered bridge.

D. Accident-Prone

Although Police Chief Randy Johnson indicated he heard of no accidents on this bridge in a recent town meeting, witnesses have seen several near accidents. DVPSA members have seen at least four near accidents in the last two years. The most dramatic one occurred in the middle of a hot summer day when a couple attempted to cross the bridge and a car ended up hitting the guardrail to avoid hitting them. Neighbors shouted if they were OK, and although a little shaken, the couple indicated that they were. The car ended up having to be pushed to the end of Bogle Rd. where is sat for several days. On another occasion, a DVPSA member was crossing the bridge in winter and had to sit on the guardrail to avoid being hit by two passing trucks. A local resident also saw a dog killed on the bridge. Because there has been little record of these near accidents and many more may be unaccounted for, the DVPSA is committed to keeping a record of all accidents that occur on the bridge. If you know of an accident or can provide further details on any accident recounted here, please report it to john@dvpsa.org or on our Facebook site.

It is also not enough to simply tell people to be more careful crossing the bridge, but its very length factors into its accident-prone nature. If you measure the bridge from the beginning to end of its guardrails—which is the part with limited shoulders—it is approximately 270 feet long. A normal 3 mph walker would take a full 61.4 seconds to cross that distance. An average 6 mph runner would take a full 30.7 seconds. The fastest sprinter in the world, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt would take nearly 10 seconds to cross the bridge. However, the average automobile, traveling at the speed limit of 35 mph would only take 5.3 seconds to cross the bridge. One may very well not see a two-car scenario that would prevent a person from crossing the bridge until one is in the middle of the bridge, and at that time it might be too late to get out of the way.

III. Why Isn't a West Dover Village Bridge for Pedestrians being Built?

A. Initial Steps

Dover first made a significant investment towards building the bridge more than 10 years ago. At the time it was called the A- Extension of the Valley Trail, and was intended to be built after the A+ and A sections were completed. Part of the overall plan for this development was to have it start at a parking lot on land south of Tollgate Village that was offered by then owner Rod and Ione Williams. The path would then continue up through the town before terminating at the West Dover Post Office parking lot. An engineering plan was drawn up for the bridge and Dover applied to receive grant money for the project. The state agreed it was a good idea too, and a grant of $292,500 was given to the town to complete the $325,000 bridge. The cost of the bridge increased to $348,840 in 2016, which the town still considered building, even if it had to take some of the land by eminent domain. House sales and other changes led to tentative verbal agreements from the easement holders, many of whom were enthusiastic for the project despite the fact it would mean construction, increased traffic and the loss of land. However, the project then stalled out. 

• First, easements could not be made approved by the state until Dover spent money on revise the plan, and the town was unwilling to spend money until the easements were approved. Also, while there was verbal agreement from the owners of the Kersten's property and the owner of 1 Bogle Rd, the two properties adjacent to the bridge, the new owner of Tollgate Village had not been contacted yet.

• Second, the pandemic came, and all construction was paused.

• Third, the price of the project increased significantly. In the beginning of 2023 it was revealed that the project would now increase in cost to $866,000. This is still far less than the $2.5 million that was spent repairing and widening bridge #59 in Dover, but there was definitely sticker shock when a project more than doubled in price.

At the first meeting in which the new price of the bridge was brought up, the Dover select board members and audience were somewhat taken aback. At the end of that meeting, at least one select board member even said that he was ready to vote down the bridge then and there. However, John Hannon spoke in favor of the bridge, and Town Clerk Andy McLean argued that the long-term project that was a passion for so many people in Dover should not be voted down in a small select board meeting without prior notice. Because of this the board agreed to postpone the vote until after the select board could receive feedback from the town at the annual town meeting.

B. March 2023 Dover Town Meeting

At the 2023 Dover town meeting, when Eric presented the town with a summary of the bridge ending with its high cost, there were some gasps in the room. Someone asked if there was an economic development reason to build the bridge, but none was offered (You can see an argument in section IV of John Hannon's report HERE and in his economic addendum HERE. Eric referred to the argument in the subsequent Re-Organization meeting). In response, a town member asked the obvious question, why are we going to spend a million dollars on a bridge? It is here when town members Linda Kersten and John Hannon presented arguments. John explained that it is a very dangerous bridge, and that he had seen near-accidents on it and himself almost was hit by a truck. Linda Kersten also mentioned the danger and explained why it was going to be built before extending the trail to Mt. Snow—because the wetlands on the way to Mt. Snow increased the cost to more than a million in 2010, rendering it unaffordable. A concerned citizen in the back of the room objected that the discussion was all about cost and not about benefits to the community, mentioning that it would be better to spend a million dollars on a bridge now than to have to spend the same amount of money on a memorial bridge after its first accident. Andy McLean, speaking as a citizen and not as the Dover Town Clerk, gave a passionate reply about how great it would be if people could see a pedestrian-friendly bridge when they entered the town, it would be a symbol of our commitment to being a pedestrian-friendly town and a great place for visitors and children. 

C. March 2023 Re-Organization Meeting and Select Board Objections

a. New funding solution

The next day the town was to have the final vote on the project at the following select board re-organization meeting. Before that happened, Eric Doucher worked on a plan to reduce the cost of the project by supplementing our existing grant with a second state grant. As Eric presented it at the meeting, the grant would reduce the $921,148 of the full project by using the existing $292,500 grant and the an additional $476,919 Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian or Alternative Transportation grant. If the additional grant were approved, this would reduce the town's obligation to only $151,730. In addition, $95,000 of the existing grant could be used to modify the plans so we could get state approval of the easements. The only issue with this approach is we wouldn't be guaranteed the additional $479,919 grant ahead of time, so it would be a gamble whether we would get it.

b. Final discussion

After presenting the new proposal the Dover select board took a few questions from the audience. Besides statements that had been said before, in the discussion, Jim McDevitt expressed a desire to see usage or potential usage statistics. Linda Kersten expressed a willingness to talk with the three property owners to enable an extension of the trail to Dover Green, which is 850 feet, which is something that she thought the town itself could do. She also hypothesized that an extension to Snow Republic Brewery might alleviate some of the car congestion there. (At the same meeting, there was a discussion about the fact that on at least one occasion this year there were more than the town-approved number of cars at Snow Republic Brewery, a situation that might be avoided with a viable pedestrian path.)  

The select board then had the opportunity to explain their votes. I include their precise arguments in what follows—sometimes pulling together meaningful objections from several comments—because they outline precisely what needs to be addressed in any future iteration of this project. Emphasis and bracketed comments have been added by DVPSA.

• Vicki Capitani: "The reason we are sitting here today is we couldn't get all the easements . . . No guarantee we will get them, and if we don't, we're out of pocket for everything." "If we had guarantees and funding I'd be behind it 100%. We could spend another $95,000 (updating the existing entineering plans), and it would be just gone, the engineering. We may not get anything beyond that if we can't get the easements." "We need a good idea with property owners on board." 

  • [DVPSA comment: Verbal agreements were obtained from the Kerstens and the owner of 1 Bogle Rd., but the sale of Tollgate Village was too recent to enable the town to receive agreements there. However, Zoning administrator & Town Health Officer Tabi Freedman mentioned she has met the owners and would be happy to make an introduction. In the new iteration of this plan, however, further easements would need to be signed. DVPSA will keep a record of progress here.]

• Sarah Shippee: "That also means that then, presumably, you are going to want to make another crosswalk to the only commercial property in that stretch, which is now even closer to the south end of the blind curve. . . the idea of a crosswalk right there scares the hell out of me. It really does. I live on Dorr Fitch Road, I look down on this corner all day and people are coming south and making the turn onto Dorr Fitch Rd, and they are cutting hard to get ahead of the cars coming from the northbound, the northbound traffic isn't looking, and just like the argument was that you can't see a pedestrian on the bridge you can't see the crosswalk either, and if they're not going to put lights on it or something your'e going to have people, and human nature being what it is, you see a crosswalk we think we can just go, right? Most people see a crosswalk and they—I can't tell you the particular number in more suburban areas where people don't even look, they just step out, because it's my crosswalk and I can just go, and they're going to get killed." "By putting that bridge in we're encouraging more people to walk across that bridge." 

  • [DVPSA comment: there is an argument HERE that the crosswalk may actually improve the safety of the intersection.]

• Joseph Mahon: "Easements, we don't know if we will get them, correct? And we have to get those in time to apply for the 2024 grant, correct? There is still a chance the they could say no to the grant money, correct me if I'm incorrect, so then we will spend money and time and then we'd either have to be on the hook for the full amount, if we decide to build it—which is even  more money than I think as a select board member I'm prepared at all—if that ends up happening. We wouldn't know that until way further into the future after we've got everything done. To me, I don't know, I'm sitting here, listening, I think we need to look at the bigger picture than just the little picture. I believe, when they look at that grant money that we're looking to build and someone up in the state of Vermont is looking at what we're doing, they're going to say, "Why would we give them that much money to do that?" That's just what I would be saying on a state level. I would be saying, "This is not making any sense." I understand everyone, the idea of it is going to be beautiful, but it just doesn't solve anything in my opinion. We're building a bridge and putting people in a different position at a different point that's not going to be better than where they were before. So, I can't even get behind it at this point, that's not just personally that's everything. I think we need to look forward to putting the trail to end it at residencies. Dover Green has a large community . . . where there are 100 units and that needs to bring those people from there so people will walk, so I get we need to get them across there, but I think it's just, I just can't do it. I just don't even want to talk about it." "I think it's better to come up with a bigger plan, now that we know we have to get further, come up with a bigger plan, and then maybe reach out in 2025. . . it needs to be further. Maybe we can work out something that's further or maybe even change it so that we're utlilizing some of that with the new town forest and through the Sawmill [Farm Road Estate] with the bridge, and have it interconnecting so people can walk and keep going. I'm all for it, but I just can't proceed without getting anything further, without actually having that further distance from the 2012 plan . . . I just feel like we're not creating anything, but putting more of a nuisance for another 10 years until we get there, so I can't go any further at this point. I think we're using our resources and Eric's resources not in the right direction at this point." [We need to 

• Scott Salway: "I think sometimes the 1% money seems like—to other people who don't understand—they think the 1% fund is a never ending slush fund that we can use forever, but I also think there are a lot of benefits [of the A- extension] and I understand that thought, but I think at this point that I'm ready to cut ties. And I don't take that lightly , , , we might be slowing people down, and I love the vision of having a beautiful historic area where we have walking—I saw that in my head and it was great, I really love that, but you know now we're talking about . . . my family going down to play and crossing the road and you have someone coming over this bridge and not knowing they need to stop, and just one person not knowing, putting people in jeopardy. I don't take that decision lightly at all, and I appreciate the reports and everyone's comments." 

  • [DVPSA comment: The existing 1% fund is currently over $2.3 million and gains ~$500,000 per year that can't be used for normal town expenses. DVPSA also presents an argument HERE that the crosswalk may improve the safety of the intersection.]

• Daniel Baliotti: "Every morning I take that turn at [time before 9AM withheld for privacy] and I see people walking dogs and running across the bridge. In the original plan there was supposed to be a crosswalk across to the Historical Society that never got built. I think the idea of us building our own bridge, adding the easements for the bridge would be terrific."

  • [DVPSA comment: It would be great to use the West Dover Village Bridge and adjacent street-focused infrastructure to increase the use of the Dover Historical Society, by making it more likely that drivers and pedestrians would stop and appreciate the West Dover Historic Village District.]

With these comments the select board voted unanimously to kill the project and withdraw from the grant from the state, essentially incurring a ~$10,000 cost and returning the $292,500 to the state.

IV. What Can We Do To Finally Complete the West Dover Village Bridge?

Given the main objections to the project came from Dover the select board, extra effort was taken to present their objections word for word in the preceding section. Far from being frivolous, all the objections raised were thoughtful and do need to be answered if any future version of the bridge is to go forward. Developing answers that can reassure the committee that this development is truly in the interest of the town.  We can do this through the following six steps, many of which are linked to additional pages for further discussion:

1. Develop a comprehensive plan for extending the trail to a useful destination to Dover Green, with an idea of how it might fit into a larger private/public partnership with neighboring properties and the Horace Hill development.

2. We need tentative agreement on the easements form all the owners of the adjacent lands. If we can get them all to the road leading to Dover Green with a big-picture vision then we would answer most of the objections from Vicki and Joe.

3. Gather quantitative data on bridge usage as Jim McDevitt suggests. John Hannon is uniquely situated to gather this data and has started the implementation already.

4. Get a commitment from the state that steps will be taken to ensure all current and future crosswalks are safe. Some option include advance warnings for crosswalks at both ends of West Dover Village and two-direction facing crosswalk signs on all crosswalks (as featured in the DVPSA.org headers), and ideally flashing lights that can be pedestrian-activated. This last option would only be possible if we can get a specific exception from the Vermont general crosswalk policies due to the dangerous nature of these crossings. If we can get this right, then we should could actually improve the safety of the intersection.

5. Gather public support for extending the Valley Trail, with a safe bridge and path to Dover Green Rd. That is one of the main purposes of this site and the adjoining Facebook Group.

6. Use public support to begin to raise new funds for the project, starting with raising funds to get the easements and update the engineering. An estimate of this initial cost floated at the meeting was $95,000. It may be possible to raise these funds from donation, or in lieu of donations, find an engineer who would be willing to donate time to the project.

If we can answer the objections to the bridge with a clear vision of how this will provide infrastructure that will enhance Dover and the Deerfield Valley for decades to come, then we may truly become one of the preeminent places to walk, hike and cycle in southern Vermont.

V. Sources Cited in the West Dover Village Bridge Discussion

• The report presented to the town by John Hannon in March of 2023: Importance of the A- Valley Trail Extension for Pedestrian Safety and Promotion of the Town as a Year-Round Destination, John Hannon, March 3rd 2023.

• Addendum to the report by John Hannon in March of 2023: Possible Economic Development Argument for the A- Extension Bridge, John Hannon, March 10th, 2023.

• Select Board Reorganizational Meeting 3/8/2023, video of the meeting. The discussion of the A-  begins at 49:34. You can also find the 3/8/23 SelectBoard Meeting Minutes Here.

• Here is the link to the potential sources for funding in the proposed plan presented by Eric Doucher at the March 2023 Re-Organization Meeting.

• Here is a link to the revised expenses for the bridge presented by Eric Doucher at the March 2023 Re-Organizational Meeting.

• The state report on traffic indicating that the stretch of road from the Dover town line to Dorr Fitch Rd. is the busiest road in Dover and the busiest section of Route 100 until you reach Waitsfield, VT can be found in the VTRANS 2021 Annual Average Daily Traffic by Route report.

• The 2012 Dover Landscape Master Plan has extensive discussion of the area where the bridge and the A- trail extension is scheduled to work. With respect to the bridge, the appendices are even more useful than the report.

• Here are images of the original plans for the bridge.

If you would like to help make this bridge a reality, please consider joining our Facebook Group or send your questions and comments to john@dvpsa.org.