The concept of I-189, known as the Southern Connector, and the Champlain Parkway into the city of Burlington along the waterfront and service an industrial area was first made in the mid-1960s. The construction of the C-1 Section (I-189/U.S. Route 7 interchange to Home Avenue), began construction sometime in the late 1980s, It was nearly completed in 1989, but the remediation plan development for the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund Site delayed the construction of the C-2 Section (Home Avenue to Lakeside Avenue) and the C-8 Section (Lakeside Avenue to Battery Street through the Pine Street Barge Canal Superfund Site), and due to continued legal challenges. These challenges mostly came from the Pine Street Coalition, who argued the project was unnecessary and too costly as well as discriminatory due to the increased traffic in the low-income and minority residents of King and Maple streets neighborhood. The original Southern Connector project was eventually canceled as the city largely left behind its industrial past in favor of tourism in the 1980s and the roadway was abandoned just beyond the US 7 interchange. As a result,
Jersey barriers are in place on I-189 west directing traffic onto the US 7 offramp, orphaning approximately of road, along with a few ramps. More support of the project in recent years has led to a resumption of construction. ==Future==