WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — New bikes lanes will change traffic patterns significantly on Route 5 as it winds through town between Wilder and VA Cutoff Road.

The first indication of the impact can been seen between Route 14 and the entrance to the middle and high schools. Vehicle traffic is down to a single lane in both directions on that steep section of Route 5 to accommodate the bike lanes and their buffers, which are required by a new state law.

Residents are questioning the wisdom of the new configuration — especially in the area near the schools.

“I don’t think (the state’s project engineers) realize how much traffic goes through here during the school year,” said resident Kelley Williams, who lives near Route 5 on Highland Avenue. “It’s going to be a whole mess.”

Approximately 7,800 vehicles a day travel this portion of Hartford Avenue, according to a traffic count conducted by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

The new bike lanes are part of a broader VTrans project that began in June to improve a four-mile stretch of Route 5 from Bugbee Street in Wilder to the Hartford-Hartland town line. They will be separated from vehicle lanes by a 6- to 8-foot wide striped buffer.

A new state law that took effect July 1 requires a minimum 4-foot buffer between cyclists and passing vehicles.

The result is that Route 5, which is also know as Hartford Avenue, will be reduced from two travel lanes for motor vehicles to one in both directions for most of the length of the four-mile project, and some intersections will have fewer dedicated turn lanes.

“There’s no way this is going to be good,” said Scott Stone, who runs a fitness studio on Route 5 near the schools. “There is a lot of traffic here and when school starts it’s going to cause tremendous problems.”

While supportive of cycling lanes, Stone said he doesn’t understand why the buffers need to be so wide.

“And I know people are still going to try to use it as an off ramp (into the school entrance),” Stone said. “I don’t think the people who were put in charge of designing the lanes were well-versed in understanding the access and the amount of traffic that goes by here.”

VTrans project managers Matthew Bogaczyk and Taylor Sisson said in an email that new signage and additional symbol painting in the road will identify through-ways, turn-lanes and the cyclist-only paths.

When the striping is complete, there will be a right-turn lane for southbound traffic from Route 5 onto Hanover Street to help with school traffic, they said.

The Route 5 bike lanes will continue on the bridge over the White River and vehicle traffic on the span will be reduced to a single lane in each direction.

Further south on Route 5, VTrans removed the slip lane connecting Route 5 southbound to Route 4 in order to allow the bike lane to cross safely through the intersection, Bogaczyk and Sisson said. Vehicles must now drive to the intersection of the two highways and make a right-hand turn onto Route 4.

“The new traffic pattern will enhance safety for the traveling public and bicyclists,” Bogaczyk and Sisson said.

VTrans plans to build a traffic roundabout at the junction of routes 4 and 5, with construction scheduled to begin next year. The $6.1 million project is expected to improve public safety at the location, a hazardous intersection with a high rate of vehicle collisions, according to state transportation officials.

Southbound vehicle traffic on Route 5 will still have two lanes for vehicles between Route 4 and the traffic circle at Sykes Mountain Avenue; the shoulder has been widened to better accommodate cyclists.

But northbound vehicle traffic on that same stretch will be reduced to a single lane and the southbound bike lane will include the buffer.

The resurfacing and repainting of Route 5 in Hartford is expected to be completed by the end of this year, the project engineers said.

Residents with questions or concerns should contact Sophia Schintzel, VTrans public information consultant, at 802-496-8963 or info@hartfordvtprojects.com.

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.