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Supercharger - West Lebanon NH

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tga

Active Member
Supporting Member
Apr 8, 2014
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3,989
New Hampshire
I just noticed that there is a grey "Opening Soon" marker on the "today" SC map in the West Lebanon, NH/WRJ, VT area. Is this new? I don't recall seeing it before. Here's a direct link to the map jpg (you can expand it to full size for a better view of New England):

http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/images/supercharger/maps/today-northamerica.jpg


A week ago I did troll around the obvious possible sites on my way from Hanover to Mass, but I didn't see any construction:

  1. Take I-91 south to exit 11, Rt 5 in WRJ. I explored from the Rt 4 junction to the north, and south to under I-89 (past the VA hospital). After 89, it gets pretty desolate (not a likely spot). I also drove down Sykes Mountain Ave, past the McDonald's, Bus Station, etc until it became residential.
  2. The one long strip mall of 12A, from Home Depot north to the Powerhouse Mall. I also checked out Interchange Drive (the loop "around back" from Walmart to McDonald's, where the Valley News offices are).
  3. I went up Benning Street behind the Shaw's (I little too industrial, and a bit of a walk to amenities).
  4. At the Powerhouse Mall, I turned up Glen Rd and went to Rt 10, and drove Rt 10 past the movie theater and Price Chopper, and got on 89 south.

Personally, I think #2, somewhere on 12A makes the most sense, since there is the most to do (even if the incentives are better in VT). The detour off I-91 is <5 minutes at most.

I did look around the Hartford, VT (WRJ is part of Hartford) and Lebanon, NH web sites (specifically planning board pages) for any docs of interest, but didn't see anything.
 
I just noticed that there is a grey "Opening Soon" marker on the "today" SC map in the West Lebanon, NH/WRJ, VT area. Is this new? I don't recall seeing it before. Here's a direct link to the map jpg (you can expand it to full size for a better view of New England):
I looked at some of the saved pages on archive.org - it looks like the oldest "new format" for the supercharger page is 1/13 (prior to that, 1/8 had the old design). The 1/13 page also had a grey flag for West Leb/WRJ, so I guess I was wrong.
 
I just noticed that there is a grey "Opening Soon" marker on the "today" SC map in the West Lebanon, NH/WRJ, VT area. Is this new? I don't recall seeing it before. Here's a direct link to the map jpg (you can expand it to full size for a better view of New England):

http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/images/supercharger/maps/today-northamerica.jpg


A week ago I did troll around the obvious possible sites on my way from Hanover to Mass, but I didn't see any construction:

  1. Take I-91 south to exit 11, Rt 5 in WRJ. I explored from the Rt 4 junction to the north, and south to under I-89 (past the VA hospital). After 89, it gets pretty desolate (not a likely spot). I also drove down Sykes Mountain Ave, past the McDonald's, Bus Station, etc until it became residential.
  2. The one long strip mall of 12A, from Home Depot north to the Powerhouse Mall. I also checked out Interchange Drive (the loop "around back" from Walmart to McDonald's, where the Valley News offices are).
  3. I went up Benning Street behind the Shaw's (I little too industrial, and a bit of a walk to amenities).
  4. At the Powerhouse Mall, I turned up Glen Rd and went to Rt 10, and drove Rt 10 past the movie theater and Price Chopper, and got on 89 south.

Personally, I think #2, somewhere on 12A makes the most sense, since there is the most to do (even if the incentives are better in VT). The detour off I-91 is <5 minutes at most.

I did look around the Hartford, VT (WRJ is part of Hartford) and Lebanon, NH web sites (specifically planning board pages) for any docs of interest, but didn't see anything.

Did you drive through the parking lot for the Powerhouse Mall? Especially behind EMS and over by Lui Lui's? That would be my first guess followed by the mall with Sears and CVS or perhaps across the street behind one of the fast food places.
 
I've been following this and have checked the meeting minutes of Hanover, Lebanon, and Hartford (includes WRJ, Quechee, Hartford) planning board and there were no discussion on Tesla permits, etc...

I know it says opening soon, however, in 2014 Tesla supercharger map had said it would be coming soon by the end of 2014. That didn't happen.

I do agree having it in WRJ near the bus stop and McDonalds is ideal since I-89 and I-91 converge there. It would meet the demands of both Interstate Highway Tesla drivers!
 
Did you drive through the parking lot for the Powerhouse Mall? Especially behind EMS and over by Lui Lui's? That would be my first guess followed by the mall with Sears and CVS or perhaps across the street behind one of the fast food places.
Yes, I drove around the main central lot of the Powerhouse, then the smaller lot between Amidon Jewelers and 12A, and continued down to the small lot between Lui-Lui's and the river. I then checked out the big lot behind EMS. No sign of anything.

My 12A soutbound tour started in the K-Mart parking lot. I took the new access road under 89 to the JC Penney, and continued the southbound parking lot tour past CVS, into BJ's (for a quick stop for dog food and K-Cups), then crossed 12A at the light by Applebee's and Best Buy. I went the whole way through the lots so I could stop and look around without worrying about traffic. Then I went up Interchange Drive, back on 12A south, turned around in the Walmart lot, and did a quick pass of 12A north to the Powerhouse. Nothing, either.

I didn't go up the airport access road and explore the industrial park, but that didn't seem like a likely location to me (too far to food, shopping, etc)

I know it says opening soon, however, in 2014 Tesla supercharger map had said it would be coming soon by the end of 2014. That didn't happen.
Yeah, I know.:redface: All that talk about Utica becoming real got me excited to think grey pins meant some real progress (at least permits).

I do agree having it in WRJ near the bus stop and McDonalds is ideal since I-89 and I-91 converge there. It would meet the demands of both Interstate Highway Tesla drivers!
Personally, this is my least favorite location, because it has the least to do while charging of the others. Meal options are limited to the diner, Subway, or supersizing yourself at McD's, and entertainment consists of people watching at the bus station, mailing a letter, or torturing salesmen at the Hyundai and Toyota dealerships.

WRJ is slightly less of an inconvenience to I-89 travelers then West Leb is to I-91 travelers (by maybe a mile), but there is a lot more to do in West Leb than WRJ.
 
Supercharger - White River Jct VT / West Lebanon NH

Tesla has a "Coming Soon" flag up for WRJ (= Hartford VT) or West Lebanon NH, which will be a great addition. I've scoured the Hartford and W Lebanon planning and zoning boards agendas and minutes, but I haven't come up with anything. I know we've got some forum members up in that area. Perhaps in-person sleuthing might yield some results.
 
I wish we'd stop referring to it as the "WRJ" supercharger, lest that somehow encourage siting it in WRJ. Maybe "WRJ/West Leb," or "Upper Valley," or something else.

IMHO, West Lebanon (I-89 exit 20) is way better than WRJ (I-91 exit 11), as there are several times more dining and shopping options in West Leb than WRJ. West Leb is the tax-free shopping zone for VT residents (like Nashua for MA, on a smaller scale). The off-91 options are pretty podunk by comparison.

Yes, drivers on one road will be inconvenienced if the SC is located on the other road. But this isn't like West Hartford, CT, where you're going ~12 miles round trip out of your way if you are heading north on 91 - either location here is within a mile of the "other highway". Plus, I've usually noticed more traffic on 89 than 91 (although I haven't tried to dig up real stats). It feels like more people travel between the Upper Valley and Manchester, Concord, and Boston than Springfield, MA and points south.

Anyway, more to the point of the thread - I did a major construction scouting operation a month ago at all the possible locations that I thought made sense. Here's my report, with a little discussion following:

New New England Supercharger Locations - Page 64
 
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Ground is frozen. Snowbanks are high. You won't see any activity this time of year. Better off monitoring the planning/zoning board minutes like Robert is doing.
Despite hcsharp's clearly far more rational thinking, I celebrated the last full day of winter this past Thursday by taking advantage of some time to kill and repeating my snooping around 89 exit 20 (West Leb) and 91 exit 11, but I didn't find anything interesting to report.

I did find it interesting that the SC map on the Tesla blog's announcement of 6.2, Model S Has You Covered | Tesla Motors, clearly shows a dot here (although it looks like Springfield is missing on that map).

I was also in Hanover, and walked through the town garage. All 4 chargepoints were open. 3 had cones blocking them. The 4th's cone had been moved aside (as if the space had been used recently)
 
Great find! I'm quoting the relevant info (I hope this is small enough for fair use. If not, mods, feel free to edit or PM and I'll edit):

Tesla, the maker of $70,000-plus electric cars, is planning to build a charging station for its vehicles adjacent to Price Chopper in a move that brings the first major electric vehicle power station to the Upper Valley.

The station comes after Korpela Family Trust, the owner of property on which Price Chopper and WalMart is located, was granted a building permit approval for the project Feb. 19 by the Lebanon planning department.

The charging station, which will cost $130,000 to build, will be squeezed between the west side of Price Chopper and Route 12A.

It will include eight “supercharger” stations, which deliver up to 120 kilowatts directly to the battery in the Tesla.

I looked on the Leb Planning Board site, but found nothing in the minutes or agendas relating to this project. 2015 meeting minutes are posted here, but the latest is from 1/26. None of the agendas here reference Tesla, Korpela, Black and Veatch, superchargers, etc.

For those not familiar with the area, this is the southern end of the 12A shopping centers, about 1/2 mile off I-89 exit 20: Google Maps

The Price Chopper is open 24hrs. I don't recall if they have bathrooms, but Walmart does (7 days, 7am-10pm), as does Home Depot across the street (opens @ 6am M-Sa).

Within a 1/4 mile walk, there are a bunch of food options: the standard fast food places (Wendy's/BK/McD's), the obligatory Panera, Denny's, a seafood place, a teppanyaki place across the street (Koto), etc. Closer to 89 is a decent brewpub (7 Barrel Brewery), and a Chili's on the other side of 89.
 
Great find! I'm quoting the relevant info (I hope this is small enough for fair use. If not, mods, feel free to edit or PM and I'll edit):

Tesla, the maker of $70,000-plus electric cars, is planning to build a charging station for its vehicles adjacent to Price Chopper in a move that brings the first major electric vehicle power station to the Upper Valley.

The station comes after Korpela Family Trust, the owner of property on which Price Chopper and WalMart is located, was granted a building permit approval for the project Feb. 19 by the Lebanon planning department.

The charging station, which will cost $130,000 to build, will be squeezed between the west side of Price Chopper and Route 12A.

It will include eight “supercharger” stations, which deliver up to 120 kilowatts directly to the battery in the Tesla.

I looked on the Leb Planning Board site, but found nothing in the minutes or agendas relating to this project. 2015 meeting minutes are posted here, but the latest is from 1/26. None of the agendas here reference Tesla, Korpela, Black and Veatch, superchargers, etc.

For those not familiar with the area, this is the southern end of the 12A shopping centers, about 1/2 mile off I-89 exit 20: Google Maps

The Price Chopper is open 24hrs. I don't recall if they have bathrooms, but Walmart does (7 days, 7am-10pm), as does Home Depot across the street (opens @ 6am M-Sa).

Within a 1/4 mile walk, there are a bunch of food options: the standard fast food places (Wendy's/BK/McD's), the obligatory Panera, Denny's, a seafood place, a teppanyaki place across the street (Koto), etc. Closer to 89 is a decent brewpub (7 Barrel Brewery), and a Chili's on the other side of 89.

Nice! Price Chopper, Lebanon, NH —Google Maps shows the address as 285 N Plainfield Rd #1, Lebanon, NH 03784 and there is a Panera Bread within walking distance.

This location is 187 miles from Montréal, making it possible to do on a good weather day in an 85. South Burlington, VT will make the route to Canada much more comfortable.
 
Ed, thanks for the quick find. The exact location of this SC had everyone guessing for a couple of years.

Also, nice timing by publishing the news in today's Sunday edition of the Valley News. Reveal of a non-virtual Tesla Easter egg!
 
I stopped by the site this afternoon on the way home and took some pictures. The Price Chopper was closed for Easter, so I couldn't check to see if they have public restrooms.

The view from the Home Depot access road, across the street. You're looking at the west wall of the Price Chopper (lots of unused parking there):
2015-04-05 16.07.40 (Medium).jpg


Standing in the Price Chopper lot, looking south-west, at the front corner (north-west corner) of the building. You can see the Home Depot on the other side of the street on the right:
2015-04-05 16.09.23 (Medium).jpg


Standing at the above corner, still looking south-west:
2015-04-05 16.10.58 (Medium).jpg


Standing in the middle of the lot, looking north-east at the corner of the Price Chopper:
2015-04-05 16.10.10 (Medium).jpg


- - - Updated - - -

Fantastic news! I will be driving my S85D up to Dartmouth College on Wednesday, and will scope out the location, with pics and description by later this week.
Sorry for stealing your thunder Eric, but I had already taken the pictures.:wink: Don't forget, there are 4 new 30A J1772's in the Hanover parking garage. There's also an 80A HPWC on Plugshare: Hanover NH charging station? - Page 3
 
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