Vermont Route 7A (VT 7A) is a 27.8-mile-long (44.7 km) north–south state highway in Bennington County, Vermont, in the United States. It is an alternate route of U.S. Route 7 (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.
Vermont Route 7A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korean Veterans Memorial Highway [1] | ||||
 VT 7A highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by VTrans | ||||
| Length | 27.820 mi[2] (44.772 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 7 in Bennington | |||
| North end | US 7 in Dorset | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Vermont | |||
| Counties | Bennington | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description edit
_at_Vermont_State_Route_30_(Bonnet_Street)_in_the_Manchester_Center_section_of_Manchester,_Bennington_County,_Vermont.jpg)
VT 7A begins at the southern end of the US 7 limited-access highway in Bennington. It heads northwest on Northside Drive for roughly six blocks, then turns north to follow the Ethan Allen Highway at the southern terminus of VT 67A. Upon passing under VT 279, VT 7A begins to parallel US 7. The two routes eventually reconnect by way of the Bennington North State Highway before US 7 veers off to the northeast. VT 7A, meanwhile, continues north into Shaftsbury.
Just inside Shaftsbury, VT 7A passes by the Robert Frost Stone House Museum. The route continues north to the village of South Shaftsbury, where it meets VT 67. North of the village, VT 7A curves slightly to the northeast as it enters Arlington. Here, the route travels past the Norman Rockwell Gallery and Exhibition and overlaps with VT 313. Outside of the village of Arlington, VT 7A takes on a more pronounced northeasterly routing into Manchester. The route passes near Hildene and serves the historic site by way of Hildene Road, then continues on to Manchester Center. Here, VT 7A intersects VT 11 and briefly overlaps VT 30 before exiting the village and entering the town of Dorset, where the route ends at another junction with US 7. Some drivers prefer VT 7A over the nearby four-lane US 7 freeway during the winter because it is significantly lower in elevation (up to 500 feet [150 m] lower than the freeway at points), so driving conditions are generally better during storms.
History edit
The route is called "Historic" in order to avert confusion with the two to four-lane limited-access highway routing of US 7, known locally as the "Super 7". Before the limited-access highway opened, VT 7A was the original routing of US 7.[3]
Major intersections edit
The entire route is in Bennington County. [2]
| Location[2] | mi[2] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennington | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 7 | Southern terminus | |
| 0.768 | 1.236 |   VT 67A north – North Bennington | Southern terminus of VT 67A | ||
| 2.356 | 3.792 | Bennington North State Highway (VT 9025) | To US 7 – Manchester, Rutland, Bennington | ||
| Shaftsbury | 4.219 | 6.790 |   VT 67 west – North Bennington, N. Hoosick NY | Eastern terminus of VT 67 | |
| Arlington | 12.405 | 19.964 |    VT 313 east to US 7 – Bennington | Southern end of concurrency with VT 313 | |
| 13.830 | 22.257 | VT 313 west – New York | Northern end of concurrency with VT 313 | ||
| Manchester | 22.999 | 37.013 |    VT 11 east / VT 30 south to US 7 | Western terminus of VT 11; southern end of concurrency with VT 30 | |
| 23.037 | 37.074 | VT 30 north (Bonnet Street) – Dorset, Poultney | Northern end of concurrency with VT 30 | ||
| Dorset | 27.820 | 44.772 | US 7 – East Dorset, Rutland, Arlington, Bennington | Northern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References edit
- ^ Vermont Named State Highways and Bridges (PDF). Vermont Department of Libraries. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c Traffic Research Unit (May 2013). 2012 (Route Log) AADTs for State Highways (PDF). Policy, Planning and Intermodal Development Division, Vermont Agency of Transportation. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ "Why is Route 7A Historic?". ThisisVermont.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2006.
External links edit
