Hardwick Downtown News
July 10th, 2025
The long awaited pedestrian bridge construction will begin soon, really, it will! The final paperwork is complete and the same construction contractor, CCS, will be beginning the work. For those of you who may not remember which bridge design was selected through the public engagement process here is the schematic representation:
The town continues to work on erecting the actual trailhead at on the green at the east end of the Depot. In the meantime there are LVRT trifold brochures that have been made available to us from the Regional Trail Council.
The Jeudevine Library is BACK with the new addition welcoming visitors! It’s great to have the anchor in our downtown community again. The hours are Monday 1-6, Tuesday 10-5, Wednesday 1-6, Thursday 10-5, Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-2. Check out more information at: https://www.jeudevinememoriallibrary.org
The first interviews for the new position that voters approved last Town Meeting Day to hire a Public Works Director. The hiring process is expected to take a couple of weeks and the person should be hired and working in conjunction with the Town Manager’s Office and the Public Works Department (otherwise referred to as the Road Crew) in early August. They will inevitably have the major downtown construction projects of the Pedestrian Bridge and rebuilding of the retaining wall between the bridge and the Village Restaurant as the first order of business. Both projects are expected to mobilize in coming DAYS!
Green Mountain Landscaping is the contractor that HDP hired to plant 30 trees in and around our downtown. The plantings are funded through a grant awarded to the HDP and the Hardwick Conservation Commission. We have 17 property owners who have adopted trees and had all soil testing, species to be planted selected, and placements sorted. The remaining 13 locations and species are being finalized in coming days. All 30 trees will be planted when temperatures cool down in the Fall since the contractor got busy and didn’t get the first 17 planted before summer set in.
At the Select Board meeting last night there was talk of a “Local Concerns” Public Meeting that will be held to discuss the grant funded Main & Mill Street Scoping Study with downtown businesses, property owners and residents. The area of the study is Mill Street out to around where the Inn on the River was and up Main St to the crosswalk just past the Civic Standard. This whole process is the first step in identifying issues with sidewalks and infrastructure in this area and coming up with possible solutions. While it won’t insure future work it does potentially open up funding opportunities to get to the next steps (engineering etc).
The Select Board in a 4 to 1 voted to support acquisition of the Davis property on Buffalo Mountain to retain as a Town Forest. The Conservation Commission will be working with Northern Rivers Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land on Hardwick’s behalf in developing this Community Forest Program. For additional info watch the presentation on HCTV when they post the Select Board Meeting: https://hctv.us/
Our beloved Town Manager, Opie, on VPR - https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-07-10/vermont-towns-move-fortify-flood-prone-buildings
