An alternative to costly highway construction: CLF develops innovative approach to easing traffic woes.

• Position: Vermont

WHILE PROPONENTS of the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway (the Circ) continue trying to justify construction of this expensive roadway around Burlington, CLF and its environmental allies have developed an alternative plan. If implemented, the plan would cost far less than the proposed highway while fostering smart growth land use patterns.

Last summer, as bulldozers prepared to break ground on the Circ, CLF won its federal lawsuit over the controversial highway plan, halting construction. CLF argued that the Federal Highway Administration and the state transportation agency violated federal law by not considering alternatives to the roadway or its effects on sprawl in northwest Vermont, and a federal court agreed.

This was actually a blessing for the cash-strapped State Transportation Fund. Vermont's current road and bridge system is in disrepair and the state cannot afford to build new roadways without neglecting these ongoing...