Killington Vacation Rental

Route 4 Opens Today!

After some incredible work, Route 4 from Rutland to Bridgewater will be open today!

This means that Killington will once again be accessible from all directions and ready for the fall foliage season as well as Brewfest. The fact that they were able to repair this road in less than 3 weeks is incredible give the amount of damage that was done:

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All I can say is great work!

Route 4: Before and After

I’m not sure of the origin of this photo, but it shows Route 4 between Killington and Mendon before and after Hurricane Irene passed through. Crazy…

Economic Impact of Irene on Killington

The economic impact of Irene is already being felt on the Killington area, especially with this being Labor Day weekend, and leaf-peeping season just around the corner. Already, the following cancellations have taken place:

• Pico Mountain has been closed for the summer season.
• The Killington golf course has been closed until futher notice.
• Killington has closed down mountain biking for the season so that they can focus on preparing for the winter season.
• Killington Mountain has been closed for hiking and gondola rides until further notice.
• All events and reservations at Killington Resort (including The Killington Grand) have been canceled through September 18.
• The IDIC 15 Road Race scheduled for September 18, 2011 has been canceled.
• The Killington Classic scheduled for September 8, 2011 has been canceled.
• The Killington Farm to Table Festival scheduled for September 16-17, 2011 has been canceled.
• The Pico Septemberfest scheduled for September 25, 2011 has been canceled.

At this point, Killington’s Brewfest scheduled for September 30, 2011 to October 1, 2011 is still on, but we’ll have to see how work progresses on the road and sewer repair. Killington Resort Lodging will begin accepting reservations on September 23, 2011.

It remains to be seen how this will truly affect the leaf peeping season which kicks off in three weeks. Bloomberg has a good article stating that there have already be a lot of cancellations just based on the images people are seeing on TV. The state is planning an ad campaign to start September 6, so we’ll have to hope that brings people to Vermont.

As Governor Shumlin told a group in Rutland on Wednesday about what he would tell tourists, “We’ve got enough roads to get around, and we’ve still got leaves on our tree. It might be goat paths instead of highways, but we can get you there.” (NY Times)

Killington News and Updates

After getting off to a slow start (no updates were posted for several days after the storm), the Town of Killington website is now posting updates several times per day about the status of the Hurricane Irene cleanup efforts. This is the best place to go to find out what is happening in Killington.

As far as being “on the ground” here, we’re stuck in the general area, but the stores are stocked, many businesses are open and things are generally fine. We lost cable TV and Internet yesterday for about 4-5 hours, but that was restored. We also received several inches of new rainfall yesterday afternoon and flash flood warnings were issues, but we seemed to weather those pretty well.

Here’s a list of good resources for keeping up to date on the latest Killington news:

• Town of Killington – Daily Irene updates on their website and get on the mailing list (lower right column)
• The Mountain Times
• Killington Chamber of Commerce – get on their mailing list
• The Rutland Herald
• Help Killington

New Google Map Tracks Vermont Road Closures

After complaints that 511.vermont.gov is only tracking state roads and not local/town roads, Google and VTrans have worked together to come up with a new website which tracks road and bridge closures, flooding and other information across the state.

The new map is much easier to use and more clearly shows marked road closures.

Click here to view the entire map with legend.

More Post-Irene News for Killington

Every hour there is a little more progress being made with restoring service and access to the area. We’re happy to report on the following new updates:

• Power is back on to the West Hill Rd area. That area has been without power since about 4pm on Sunday, so it’s great to have it back!
• Killington Mountain has begun their post-Irene cleanup. Work is progressing and they are hoping to re-open for golf, mountain biking and hiking as soon as possible.
• There will be mail service tomorrow! The post office will operate during normal hours, but will not be making mailbox delivery. The post office will be closed on Friday and hours for next week are being determined. As of now, mail will not be delivered to the post office on a daily basis.

Access from Killington to Woodstock/Quechee/I-91 and I-89

Beginning, September 1, Route 4 will be open daily during these times:

• Westbound (Woodstock to Killington)
• Open from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.
•  Closed all other times
• Eastbound (Killington to Woodstock)
• Open from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
•  Closed all other times

Travel at your own risk, using extreme caution at very low speeds.  There are many obstacles in the road and many areas that can only accommodate one lane of traffic. 

Access from Killington to Rutland
There is no public vehicular access to Rutland. However, Marble Valley Regional Transit Authority will restore the Diamond Express Line for emergencies and working personnel (with only selected stops listed below).  This service will begin Wednesday, August 31 with this schedule:

• Depart Rutland at 5:15pm and arrive at Killington at 6:15pm. Depart Killington at 6:30pm and arrive at Rutland at 7:30pm

Beginning Thursday, September 1, the daily busing schedule will be:

• Depart Rutland at 7:15am and arrive in Killington at 8:15am. Depart Killington at 8:30am and arrive in Rutland at 9:30am
• Depart Rutland at 5:15pm and arrive at Killington at 6:15pm. Depart Killington at 6:30pm and arrive at Rutland at 7:30pm

The Bus will make select stops at:

Killington Grand – Pico Mountain – Mendon Mountainview/Cortina Inn – Transit Center (Rutland)

–          Times are approximate and will depend on travel speeds.

–          This schedule is subject to change.  Check www.killingtontown.com for updates

Things Are Looking Up

Credit: FemaleSkiBum

After today’s voluntary exodus along Route 4 through Bridgewater and Woodstock, the town has gotten a bit quieter. The positive news is that there is a lot of other activity in Killington:

• FemaleSkiBum reports that 11 pickup trucks showed up at the Killington Market, unloaded and left. (See photo above.) No word on whether their prices were reduced to non-resort prices or not.
• I saw a bunch of Casella garbage trucks picking up trash from various stops along the Access Road, which would seem to imply that more than just emergency vehicles are getting through to Killington.
• Repair work around the region is proceeding, but no timelines for in and out travel have yet been established. Most roads have had quick repairs for emergency vehicles only.
• Free lunch is being served at the Killington elementary school at 12pm and free dinner is being served at 6pm. They are also accepting food donations.
• MREs and water have been delivered and are available for pickup from the fire station.
• The sound of helicopters is pretty constant right now. We’re hoping that means vital supplies are coming and going.

Unfortunately, there is still no power to the West Hill Rd area, but CVPS is hoping to have it fixed by Thursday or Friday.

More updates to come…