MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Fifteen months after devastating flooding in downtown Montpelier, The U.S. Postal Service on Monday officially opened a replacement post office.
The new office at 89 Main St. takes the place of the former post office that closed after flood waters inundated the Federal Building, one of the few structures that remain closed following the July 2023 storm.
“We thank our loyal customers for their patience as we underwent the process of seeking out a new location after last year’s flooding and building out our new space to best suit the needs of our Montpelier residents and businesses. We look forward to serving our downtown Montpelier community and being your shipper of choice for generations to come,” USPS officials said in a statement announcing the opening.
City and state leaders have criticized the USPS for both delays in opening a replacement facility in the state’s capital as well as a lack of transparency about the process. Senator Peter Welch has called the situation “inexcusable” and in a statement on Monday questioned whether it calls for a change in USPS leadership.
“There is no justifiable reason for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s failures in Montpelier, which for 15 months was the only capital city without a fully functional post office. The agency’s internal benchmarks to restore service after a disaster were entirely dismissed and the USPS’ national management has failed to respond to the needs of Vermont. Our State’s confidence in this essential service has been badly eroded, and we need to see concrete actions by the USPS Board of Governors and the national management to prove they can, indeed, deliver for small and rural communities. If opening a post office—a task this agency has done more than a thousand times in their 250-year history—is too challenging, they should consider a change in leadership,” Welch said.
While the facility had a “soft opening,” Monday, a grand reopening celebration is set for Saturday starting at 9 a.m.