Vermont Route 279

Vermont Route 279 (VT 279), often referred to as the Bennington Bypass, is a freeway bypass of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, in the United States. It extends for roughly 6.7 miles (10.8 km) from the New York state line northwest of Bennington to an intersection with VT 9 east of the downtown district. At its west end, VT 279 connects to New York State Route 915G (NY 915G), an unsigned reference route leading to New York State Route 7 (NY 7) in Hoosick, New York.

The section of VT 279 west of U.S. Route 7 (US 7) officially opened to traffic in 2004; however, portions of the route have been open in some capacity since the 1970s. An extension of VT 279 southeast to VT 9 was completed in 2012.

Route description

VT 279 begins at the New York–Vermont state line, where the road continues west to NY 7 in Hoosick, New York, as NY 915G, a reference route signed as "To VT 279" eastbound and "To NY 7" westbound. As VT 279, the highway heads northeast from the state line, passing through rural northwest Bennington as a three-lane road. It bypasses William H. Morse State Airport to the north and passes over a pair of local roadways on its way toward downtown Bennington, where the route crosses the Walloomsac River and meets VT 67A at a parclo interchange north of downtown.

Past VT 67A, the bypass widens to four lanes and becomes a divided highway as it passes over VT 7A and approaches a complex interchange with US 7. The route briefly overlaps with the freeway before continuing eastward as a two-lane highway toward the western edge of Green Mountain National Forest.