Vermont Route 103

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Vermont Route 103

Map
VT 103 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by VTrans
Length42.036 mi[1] (67.650 km)
Major junctions
South end US 5 in Rockingham
Major intersections VT 100 in Ludlow
North end US 7 in Clarendon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateVermont
CountiesWindham, Windsor, Rutland
Highway system
VT 102 VT 103A

Vermont Route 103 (VT 103) is a 42.036-mile-long (67.650 km) north–south state highway in southern Vermont, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 5 (US 5) in Rockingham in the east to US 7 in Clarendon near Rutland in the west. The Vermont Country Store's second branch is one attraction along the route, as well as the Okemo Ski Resort in Ludlow.

Route description

VT 103 is a major arterial road for Vermont, being the most direct path from Boston and southeastern New England to Rutland and the Green Mountains ski areas and attractions. Although U.S. Route 4 is a shorter and slightly better road across the Green Mountains to Rutland, it is a direct east–west road intersecting Interstate 91 significantly north of the diagonal 103. Numerous proposals to widen 103 into a two-lane freeway or similar limited-access roadway have failed, even though a substantial power company right of way shadows the road for much of its length.

Vermont Country Store location on VT 103

VT 103 begins at U.S. Route 5 in Rockingham just east of Interstate 91 and just north of Bellows Falls. From there, it interchanges with I-91 at exit 6 and proceeds northeast to a pair of intersections with Meetinghouse Road, a loop road connecting VT 103 to the Rockingham Meetinghouse. Farther northwest, the route passes by one of Vermont Country Store's two locations and intersects Williams Road and Lower Bartonsville Road, a pair of local roads leading to the Worrall Covered Bridge and the Bartonsville Covered Bridge, respectively. VT 103 continues as a wide sweeping road into Chester, Windsor County, where it briefly overlaps VT 11 and crosses the Williams River on a new bridge.

Ludlow Baptist Church and Black River Academy

Just north of Chester, VT 103 passes through Stone Village, an area listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here, houses made of local granite line both sides of VT 103. Outside of Stone Village, the road varies from a narrow and winding shoulder-less 2-lane between the river and mountains to a more wide-shouldered road. This variation remains until the village of Ludlow, where the route passes by the Ludlow Baptist Church and the Black River Academy near the village green. A few blocks to the west, VT 103 intersects VT 100 and joins VT 100 north past the Okemo Ski Resort into the town of Ludlow, where the concurrency ends roughly 1 mile (2 km) north of the village. While VT 100 continues north and parallels the county line, VT 103 turns west and crosses into Rutland County.

Across the county line in Mount Holly, VT 103 passes within a few miles of the Crowley Cheese factory as it heads into the Shrewsbury village of Cuttingsville with even more variations in road quality. Outside Cuttingsville, it proceeds through Clarendon, where it crosses over the conjoined Long and Appalachian Trails and intersects Airport and East Clarendon Roads, two local roadways leading, respectively, to the Kingsley and Brown Covered Bridges. Shortly after the junction with East Clarendon Road, VT 103 intersects VT 7B, the former routing of U.S. Route 7, before terminating at modern US 7 adjacent to the Rutland Airport, just south of Rutland.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
WindhamRockingham0.0000.000 US 5 (Missing Link Road / Rockingham Road) – Bellows FallsSouthern terminus
0.035–
0.255
0.056–
0.410
I-91 – Springfield, White River Junction, BrattleboroExit 6 on I-91; partial cloverleaf interchange
WindsorChester9.24214.874
VT 11 east (Pleasant Street) – Springfield
Southern end of concurrency with VT 11
9.62915.496

VT 11 west (South Main Street) to VT 35 – Manchester, Grafton
Northern end of concurrency with VT 11
14.39423.165
VT 10 east – North Springfield, Springfield
Western terminus of VT 10
Cavendish19.30731.072
VT 131 east (Main Street) – Proctorsville, Cavendish
Western terminus of VT 131
Village of Ludlow22.44936.128
VT 100 south (Andover Street) – Weston, Londonderry
Southern end of concurrency with VT 100
Town of Ludlow24.28339.080
VT 100 north – Tyson, Plymouth
Northern end of concurrency with VT 100
RutlandMount Holly33.52553.953

VT 140 west to VT 155 – East Wallingford, Wallingford
Eastern terminus of VT 140
Wallingford33.92454.595
VT 155 south (Village Street) – East Wallingford, Weston
Northern terminus of VT 155
Clarendon41.84267.338 VT 7B
42.03667.650 US 7 – Wallingford, RutlandNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b 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 27, 2015.