Editing Interstate 89 (section)

==History==
[[File:VT 9 I89 FHWA 1965 363.jpg|thumb|right|Construction of the White River Bridge near [[White River Junction, Vermont]] (1965)]]
[[File:VT 4 I89 FHWA 1963 902.jpg|thumb|right| I-89 looking easterly up the Winooski River valley, crossing U.S. Route 2, approximately 2 3/4 miles west of [[Waterbury, Vermont|Waterbury]] (1963)]]
===Construction===
I-89 was commissioned as part of the [[Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956]], meant to connect [[Norwalk, Connecticut]], to the Canada–United States border via the [[U.S. Route 7|US 7]] corridor, which is the current northern terminus of I-89. Within three years, however, opposition to the project (particularly from [[Massachusetts]], which desired a freeway connection from Boston to Montreal) shifted I-89 to its present alignment that connects [[Boston]] with [[Montreal]]. The first section of the highway was opened between [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]] and [[Middlesex, Vermont]], in November 1960, and between Middlesex and [[Waterbury, Vermont|Waterbury]] in December 1960. The highway was subsequently opened between Waterbury and [[Bolton, Vermont|Bolton]] in November 1961; between [[South Burlington, Vermont|South Burlington]] and [[Winooski, Vermont|Winooski]] in November 1962; between Winooski and [[Colchester, Vermont|Colchester]] and between [[Richmond, Vermont|Richmond]] and South Burlington in November 1963; between Bolton and Richmond in October 1964; in Colchester in November 1964; and between [[Swanton (town), Vermont|Swanton]] and [[Highgate, Vermont|Highgate]] in 1965. The Interstate was opened in most parts of New Hampshire in 1967, and the entirety of the route was opened in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-089.html|agency=Interstate Guide|title=Interstate 89|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref>

===Original proposal===
I-89 was originally supposed to be a directly north–south route from [[Interstate 95 in Connecticut|I-95]] in [[Norwalk, Connecticut]], to its current northern terminus at the Canada–United States border. The route shifted after opposition came from residents and local lawmakers in interior [[New England]] who did not want an Interstate running through their countryside and towns. One major problem that was a big part in sinking the project was the fact that the highway would have to go through the [[Green Mountain National Forest]] in Vermont.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/cs/main/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8zijQwgwNHCwN_DI8zPwBcqYKAfDlZggAM4GuhHEaMfj4Io_MaH60dhtSLMB2ECITO89KPSc_KTIN51zEsytkjXjypKTUstSi3SKy0CCmeUlBQUW6kaqBqUl5frpefnp-ek6iXn56oaYNOSkV9coh-BqlK_IDc0wiDLNKfMx1ERAMzc-30!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/?pname=Green%20Mountain-%20Home&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&ss=110920&pnavid=null&navid=091000000000000&cid=FSE_003853|title=Green Mountain National Forest|agency=USDA|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref> Parts of the Interstate were built in Connecticut, between Norwalk and [[Wilton, Connecticut|Wilton]] and from [[Brookfield, Connecticut|Brookfield]] to [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]], a short bypass around [[Lenox, Massachusetts]], and in southern Vermont between [[Bennington, Vermont|Bennington]] and [[Manchester, Vermont|Manchester]] and are currently designated as [[U.S. Route 7|US 7]]. The state of Connecticut had plans to extend the Norwalk segment to meet with the Danbury segment but has instead opted to widen portions of the existing road to four lanes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.route7.org/|agency=The Committee To Extend Route 7|title=Save Super Seven|access-date=December 3, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209031426/http://www.route7.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> There has always been talk of building the original route of I-89, as it would bring economic development to cities like [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]], and [[Bennington, Vermont]], and connect parts of the interior Northeast to New York City, but nothing has ever been formally proposed since the original proposal in the 1950s.{{whose quote}}

===Other routes between Boston and Montreal===
The current route of I-89 is the main artery between [[Boston]] and [[Montreal]], two large metropolitan areas in the US and Canada, respectively. Before I-89 was built, there was no limited-access route between the two cities. The route between the two cities is not complete, however, as [[Quebec Autoroute 35|Autoroute 35]] in [[Quebec]] still needs to be extended south of its current terminus to connect to I-89 at the Canada–United States border. In 2019, it was announced that the highway would be complete by 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'autoroute 35 sera complétée d'ici 2023 |url=https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2019/10/09/lautoroute-35-sera-completee-dici-2023 |access-date=2022-07-09 |website=TVA Nouvelles|date=October 9, 2019 }}</ref> {{As of|2022|07}}, grading of the right of way between the existing terminus at exit 15 to Chemin Champlain is in progress.