Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin flanked by VT Commissioner of Tourism Megan Smith and Killington Resort President Chris Nyberg cut the ribbon to re-open Route 4 for traffic in Killington.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin flanked by VT Commissioner of Tourism Megan Smith and Killington Resort President Chris Nyberg cut the ribbon to re-open Route 4 for traffic in Killington.

In a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by a multitude of Vermont officials, construction and public safety personnel and several hundred Killington residents, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin officially opened Route 4 for public travel across Vermont. The road has been closed for 18 days after being virtually destroyed by Hurricane Irene as it swept through the area on Sunday August 28th.

Governor Shumlin spoke of the can do attitude of the people of Vermont. He spoke of how local Vermonters have risen to the challenge to rebuild the state after the storm. He commended local officials for taking charge of the situation, and mobilizing the resources to quickly respond. He praised the citizens of Killington, Mendon, Pittsfield, Bridgewater, and Rutland for their volunteer efforts to look after one another, freeing up time for emergency personnel to plot out a recovery process for the area.

Governor Shumlin singled out, with truly high praise, local construction contractors including Craig Mosher of Killington and Doug Casella of Mendon for quickly getting their equipment on to the destroyed road in the first days after the storm. Their initiative set the stage to jumpstart reconstruction efforts. Without local contractors taking the initiative to reopen roads for emergency vehicles, without waiting for approval from the State to work on roads, the situation could have been much worse for the citizens of our community.

Tourism Commissioner Megan Smith spoke about welcoming back visitors to Vermont for fall foliage season. The reopening of Route 4 provides a vital corridor for tourists visiting the state to see fall colors. Route 4 reopening signifies that the State of Vermont is open again for all to visit.

Local officials also spoke at the gathering. Killington Resort President Chris Nyberg, town of Killington Interim Town Manager Seth Webb, and Killington Chamber of Commerce President Chris Karr all spoke about how the community has been hard at work during the period of road reconstruction to prepare the area to greet visitors to Killington. To back that up, they mentioned that the Killington Resort will be restarting the Gondola to Killington Peak this weekend for scenic fall foliage rides. The 2 golf courses in Killington have reopened. Traditional fall events including the Killington BrewFest on October 1 and the Killington Ski Club Ski Swap on Columbus Day weekend are all set to take place again this year.

The official ribbon cutting took place around 11:30 AM. You probably will see pictures of it on TV in the news this evening.

Killington Vermont is back open for business. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.