Vermont Roads - US 5 - S. of St. Johnsbury

south of St. Johnsbury


SB at I-91 Exit 1.

SB and NB, respectively, with old shields on the US 5/VT 9 duplex.

A.k.a. Why Roadgeeks Like Bellows Falls. Wherever you're going, it ain't gonna be quickly.


Note the nice variety of really old shields, including, in the center photo, US 5 where the black has whitened and VT 103 where the white has blackened. VT 103 is in a square - this is a really old design that still exists on town-maintained state routes such as 103 and US 5 in BF, because towns like BF are too lazy to get new circles to replace them. Also worth noting is that the I-91 shield on the right is an original 18x18 shield - very quickly after the first MUTCD came out, specs upgraded to 24x24 minimum. Click on it to see a closeup.


Dear Motorist, How Should We Sign NH 12?
  1. Use a typical circle shield. Sure, it's about 30 years old and peeling, but still legible.
  2. Stick an N.H. in that shield. Disadvantage: Have to use a new shield with lowered numbers to make room for the N.H. This one is cheating - it's really south of Bellows Falls, off of I-91 Exit 5.
  3. Those old squares gotta be good for something, right? A double roadgeek delight - substituting two stick-on letters for a different shield design, and using a very old shield to do so. Of course, this shield also uses lowered numbers, so once it's gone, a square VT 12 can't really replace it.
  4. The fourth photo is really the same as the third photo but taken more recently; you see a state-name I-91 shield to the right as well, and the 12 and 5 shields have blackened/faded almost completely.
  5. Okay, we'll cave in and buy a cheap shield from NH and tack it up. But we'll only buy one. You want a NH 123 shield too, sorry, we're out of money. Oh, yeah, and the construction contractor has some square shields of his own.

Whichever choice you pick, if you end up on that bridge you'll see this unusual state line sign.


Sunburst! US 5 SB at VT 11, then looking east toward 11's Connecticut River crossing.


North and south faces of Old South Church in Windsor.


The original turnpike splits from the pavement of current US 5 near a railroad crossing south of White River Junction. I would imagine there was an at-grade railroad crossing years ago, as opposed to the railroad being newer than this concrete pavement.


More embossed speed limit, this leaning against someone's mailbox facing northbound traffic. Hey, better than throwing it in a junkyard.


Veterans Drive at US 5 just south of White River Jct.; these old shields point northbound.


SB button copy with borderless shields, just on the other side of I-91 from the previous photo.


SB photos approaching Hanover, NH, past a railroad bridge to fog at the end of VT-NH 10A.

NB at a very short route, which quickly enters NH. But you'll want to check it out via the link at bottom.


Bradford photos, first one NB at a random jughandle for no apparent reason (US 5 isn't divided, so who needs a U-turn?), last two of the Waits River bridge, ending up looking SB across it. It's not very impressive, but it's old.

US 5 scalps the Old Man in the Mountain at Newbury Crossing Rd.


Bridge St. EB from US 5 in Passumpsic, at the north end of Barnet, crossing the Passumpsic River.


A northwesterly view, then back west across the bridge.


A couple of the embossed signs on the west side of the bridge; I seem to have forgotten to get the front of the second one.


Views from the bridge: north, south, and east - the latter is either someone's overbuilt veranda or an old abutment from the original bridge here. I leave the conclusion to you.


The 1929 power plant on the western shore makes good use of the adjacent falls on the south side of the bridge.

Continue north on US 5
VT 12 and 12/US 5
Onto VT 11 and 11/US 5
Backyard railroad in Barnet
Alternate US 5, St. Johnsbury
Back to US 5 main page

Into Massachusetts on US 5
Onto I-91
Onto VT 9
To VT 30
To VT 103
To NH 12
To NH 123
To I-89
To US 4
See more of White River Junction
Onto VT 132
To NH 10
Onto VT 25A
Back to Vermont Roads
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