Ripton Forest Road to Close for Culvert Upgrade

Release Date: 

Contact(s): Public Affairs Officer: Ethan Ready, (802) 747-6760


ROCHESTER, (June 18, 2024) – Chris Mattrick, District Ranger for the Rochester and Middlebury Ranger District of the Green Mountain National Forest announced today that the Forest Service will need to temporarily close Forest Road 59 in the town of Ripton.  

The scenic National Forest road is being closed so that an older traditional culvert can be replaced with a new aquatic organism passage (AOP) culvert that will vastly improve hydrologic connection, improve aquatic species habitat, and provide increased flood resilience. Work on the Forest Road AOP project will begin later this week and the road will be closed within 500 feet of the culvert site on each side starting on Wednesday, June 26th through the end of October. Signs will be posted to warn people of the construction work.  

“It is unfortunate that we will need to close the road for several months, but I am happy that we have the resources available to replace this infrastructure with a well-designed AOP structure that will enhance our road system and connectivity for aquatic species,” said Mattrick. “We have had tremendous success throughout the National Forest system with these state-of-the-art culverts which have stood up to severe storms when others have failed,” added Mattrick.  

During the closure period, access to the Skylight Pond trail head will remain open from Forest Road 54 / Natural Turnpike. The Forest Service manages hundreds of miles of roads and trails as well as bridges, trailheads, and parking lots for public access to the more than 400,000-acre National Forest.