I-89's Green Rest Stop in Sharon, VT

(Ambient sound ? construction noise, traffic)

Cars and trucks whiz by on I-89 as construction workers near the end of their work day at the Sharon rest area.

The afternoon sun reflects sharply off a large building that looks like a greenhouse.

An intriguingly shaped pavilion tells visitors that "this is not your father?s rest area."

This is Vermont?s first ?green? rest stop.

It will use less energy than its counterparts

And whenever possible resources used will be recycled.

Its design was born out of frustration.

Illuzzi - The crown jewel of disappointment was the Williston rest areas northbound and southbound. No Vermont materials, energy hogs, cookie cutter style you could find them anyplace else in the country.

That?s Senator Vincent Illuzzi.

Illuzzi - By far this is the first time Vermont, the Green Mountain State, has actually built a green building that it can now hold as a model around the country, across America.

Because people are always coming and going, rest areas are notoriously expensive to heat and cool.

The new stop at Sharon has turned to Mother Earth for help.

The technical term is a ground coupled closed loop water source heat pump system.

Vermont?s Chief of Engineering for Buildings and General Services Dave Burley puts the term into words the rest of us can understand.

Burley - Through something like 24 430-foot deep wells into the ground and it uses the energy stored in the earth?not the groundwater portion of the earth, but the solid rock portion of the earth, to exchange heat, depending on whether we?re cooling or heating.

The buildings and site are designed to take advantage of sunlight to warm buildings, keep their interiors bright and to melt snow.

But one of the more interesting components at the rest area is what's called the Living Machine.

The greenhouse that visitors see when they drive in is actually a jungle-like biological system.

It will use plants and bugs to recycle over two-thirds of the 6,000 gallons these rest stops use ever day.

And even though Great pains have been taken to use Vermont materials at the rest area.

Burley says there's one exception in the Living Machine.

Burley: the species of plant that we?re using can be found in Southeast Asia as a kind of tribute to the sacrifices that our veterans made during that war.

This rest stop also serves as a Vietnam War Memorial.

Back in 1982 a simple Vietnam war marker was placed here.

The rest area in Sharon is located near the 138-mile marker.

138 is the number of Vermonters who died in that war. (is this true??)

And the view south from the rest area over the White River watershed is said to resemble the highlands of Vietnam.

The new Vietnam memorial features an extended wall made from Vermont rock .

It's designed to hold candles for vigils and help ease painful memories for veterans like Adrian Megrath.

Megrath heads the Rutland branch of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Megrath - This one they way that they?ve got laid out over there in Sharon is going to be super and I think the guys will really appreciate.

Not everyone loves the new rest area.

An Upper Valley columnist has noted that the current $6.3 million price tag is more than 3 times the original proposal from several years ago.

The writer blames local politicians for wasting federal funding to create a rest stop that he says will look like a politically correct four-season resort.

But for Senator Illuzzi, the Sharon Rest Area represents money well spent.

It achieves his goals of embracing visitors with an environmentally friendly, uniquely Vermont facility.

And at the same time it gives long-overdue respect to veterans of an unpopular war.

Illuzzi - This is a work of art, not a dumpy rest area on the side of the road.

The Sharon Rest Area is scheduled to reopen with a special dedication ceremony in August.

For NHPR news, this is Kevin Forrest.