U.S. Route 7 in Vermont

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 7 in Vermont. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 7.

U.S. Route 7
Ethan Allen Highway
Route information
Maintained by VTrans
Length:	176.287 mi (283.71 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 7 at the Massachusetts state line in Pownal
	VT 9 in Bennington US 4 in Rutland I-189 at South Burlington/Burlington city line US 2 in Burlington and Colchester
North end:	I-89 near Highgate
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced State highways in Vermont ← VT 5A VT 7A →

U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south highway extending from southern Connecticut to the northernmost part of Vermont. In Vermont, the route extends for 176 miles (283 km) along the western side of the state as a mostly two-lane rural road with a few short expressway sections. It is known as the Ethan Allen Highway for much of its path through the state. US 7 ends at an interchange with Interstate 89 (I-89) in the town of Highgate, just south of the Canadian border. I-89 continues to the border crossing.

Route description

Original-style Vermont US 7 shield with embossed features

US 7 crosses the Massachusetts–Vermont state line at Pownal, from where the road heads north to Bennington as a rural two-lane highway. Just north of downtown Bennington, the highway transitions into a limited-access highway. For 3 miles (4.8 km), US 7 is a true expressway with divided carriageways and multiple lanes. The road subsequently narrows down to an undivided two-lane freeway; however, many stretches have passing lanes. This continues to a point just north of Manchester, where US 7 reverts to a surface road.

Most of US 7 between Manchester and the Canadian border is an undivided, uncontrolled road varying in width from two to four lanes. Two divided highway sections also exist: a 10-mile (16 km) section south of Rutland, and a stretch between Shelburne and Burlington known as Shelburne Road. There is overhead signage at the junction with I-189 in South Burlington that directs northbound trucks onto I-189. While US 7 heads directly into Burlington, I-189 bypasses the city to the south and east and leads directly to I-89, which closely parallels US 7 through northern Vermont.

Near downtown Burlington, US 7 intersects with US 2; the latter route joins US 7 for more than 9 miles (14 km) to Colchester. North of here, US 7 and I-89 run through northern Vermont to Highgate, where US 7 ends at the northernmost exit on I-89.

History

US 7 was assigned in 1926.

Future

A freeway is being built to the north and east of Bennington. Once complete, US 7 will utilize this new bypass while the existing two-lane road into town will become part of Vermont Route 7A (VT 7A).

Suffixed routes

US 7 has two suffixed routes, both of which are old alignments of US 7.

• VT 7A (27.820 miles or 44.772 kilometres) is an alternate route of US 7 between Bennington and Dorset. The route is signed as "Historic VT 7A" to distinguish it, the original routing of US 7, from the modern US 7 limited-access highway.
• VT 7B (6.786 miles or 10.921 kilometres) is an alternate route of US 7 through the towns of Wallingford and Clarendon. VT 7B was the original alignment of US 7 prior to the construction of the current US 7 divided highway through the area.^{[citation needed]} The route intersects US 7 five times (including the termini) and overlaps it for 0.8 miles (1.29 km) in Clarendon.

US 7 Alternate

U.S. Route 7 Alternate
Location:	Burlington

The lone "Alternate US 7" assembly along the short route.

U.S. Route 7 Alternate (ALT US 7) is an alternate route of US 7 in Burlington. The southbound-only US 7 Alternate begins at the intersection of Hyde Street and Riverside Avenue (US 2 and US 7) and runs for a distance of 2.107 miles (3.391 km) in the following manner: west on Riverside Avenue, south on North and South Winooski avenues, south on St. Paul Street, and south on Shelburne Street to its end at US 7 at the rotary-style intersection of South Willard Street (US 7), Locust Street and Ledge Road. Mainline US 7 travels over Hyde Street and North and South Willard streets until the aforementioned intersection.

The lone "Alternate US 7" assembly on the route is located on St. Paul Street in Burlington, just south of the intersection with South Winooski Avenue and Howard Street.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Bennington	Pownal	0.000	0.000		US 7	Massachusetts state line
		1.863	2.998		VT 346	Eastern terminus of VT 346
	Community of Bennington	10.957	17.634		VT 9
	Bennington	12.140	19.537		VT 7A	Southern terminus of VT 7A
		South end of freeway section
		13.153	21.168	1	VT 279 to VT 67A - Brattleboro, Troy
		14.393	23.163	2	VT 7A - Shaftsbury, Bennington (south)
	Sunderland	24.224	38.985	3	VT 313 to VT 7A - Arlington, Sunderland (north), Shaftsbury (south)	Eastern terminus of VT 313
	Town of Manchester	34.501	55.524	4	VT 11 / VT 30 to VT 7A - Manchester
	North end of freeway section
	Dorset	38.897	62.599		VT 7A	Northern terminus of VT 7A
Rutland	Wallingford	56.165	90.389		VT 140
		57.054	91.820		VT 7B	Southern terminus of VT 7B
	Clarendon	58.581	94.277		VT 7B south	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 7B concurrency
		59.297	95.429		VT 7B north	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 7B concurrency
		61.169	98.442		VT 103	Northern terminus of VT 103
		62.591	100.730		VT 7B
		63.393	102.021		VT 7B	Northern terminus of VT 7B
	Town of Rutland	63.844	102.747		US 4 west	Southern terminus of US 4 / US 7 concurrency
	City of Rutland	65.944	106.127		BR US 4	Eastern terminus of BR US 4
		66.081	106.347		US 4 east	Northern terminus of US 4 / US 7 concurrency
	Pittsford	73.057	117.574		VT 3	Northern terminus of VT 3
	Brandon	81.656	131.413		VT 73 east	Eastern terminus of US 7 / VT 73 concurrency
		82.072	132.082		VT 73 west	Western terminus of US 7 / VT 73 concurrency
Addison	Salisbury	91.315	146.957		VT 53	Northern terminus of VT 53
	Middlebury	94.157	151.531		VT 116	Southern terminus of VT 116
		94.431	151.972		VT 125 east	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 125 concurrency
		98.285	158.174		VT 30 / VT 125 west	Northern terminus of VT 30; northern terminus of US 7 / VT 125 concurrency
	New Haven	106.034	170.645		VT 17 east	Western terminus of US 7 / VT 17 concurrency
		106.148	170.829		VT 17 west	Eastern terminus of US 7 / VT 17 concurrency
	Ferrisburgh	111.511	179.460		VT 22A	Northern terminus of VT 22A
Chittenden	Charlotte	120.723	194.285		VT F-5	Eastern terminus of VT F-5
	South Burlington –Burlington line	130.429	209.905		I-189	Western terminus of I-189
	Burlington	131.627	211.833		ALT US 7 (Shelburne Street)	Southern terminus of ALT US 7
		132.550	213.319		US 2 east	Southern terminus of US 2 / US 7 concurrency
		133.490	214.831		ALT US 7 (Riverside Avenue)	Northern terminus of ALT US 7
	Winooski	134.783	216.912		VT 15	Western terminus of VT 15
	Colchester	135.763	218.489		I-89	Exit 16 (I-89)
		137.579	221.412		VT 127	Northern terminus of VT 127
		139.220	224.053		VT 2A	Northern terminus of VT 2A
		142.110	228.704		US 2 west	Northern terminus of US 2 / US 7 concurrency
Franklin	Georgia	151.485	243.791		VT 104A	Northern terminus of VT 104A
		151.648	244.054		I-89	Exit 18 (I-89)
	City of St. Albans	160.332	258.029		VT 36 east	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 36 overlap
		160.360	258.074		VT 36 west	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 36 overlap
		160.911	258.961		VT 38	Eastern terminus of VT 38
		161.322	259.623		VT 105	Western terminus of VT 105
	Town of St. Albans	162.473	261.475		VT 207	Southern terminus of VT 207
	Village of Swanton	168.910	271.834		VT 78 east	Southern terminus of US 7 / VT 78 concurrency
		168.992	271.966		VT 78 west	Northern terminus of US 7 / VT 78 concurrency
	Highgate	176.287	283.706		I-89	Exit 22 (I-89)
Concurrency terminus •      Closed •      Unopened

External links

• Media related to U.S. Route 7 in Vermont at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Route 7
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