WINCHESTER — Selectmen will meet again Monday to discuss how to
address the damage caused by flash flooding this week, according to town
officials.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday afternoon, all but three houses on roads that were washed out could be accessed by car, Town Administrator Shelly Walker said.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday afternoon, all but three houses on roads that were washed out could be accessed by car, Town Administrator Shelly Walker said.
The three homes are on Purcell Road, and people are able to get to them on foot, she said.
In total, at least 12
roads were damaged during the deluge late Tuesday night into Wednesday,
with some of the worst being Fosgate Road, Jantti Road, Old Swanzey
Road, Old Westport Road and Watson Road.
Old Westport Road remains closed as of this morning to through traffic, as a roughly 120-foot section of it is missing.
Arrangements have been
made for ambulances and fire trucks to get to homes on the section of
Old Westport Road that is only accessible by crossing the Coombs Bridge,
Winchester Fire Chief Barry Kellom said this morning.
Ambulances can cross the covered bridge, which has a height and weight limit, but fire trucks can’t, he said.
Fire trucks responding to
calls will be sent through Mitchell Sand and Gravel off Route 10 and
onto Old Swanzey Road, he said. From there, they can access Old Westport
Road and other connecting streets, he said.
Local and state officials continued to assess the damage Thursday, and met with town officials, Walker said.
Town officials are awaiting a cost estimate of the damage, and whether the town is eligible for any aid.
Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.
11 comments:
Okay, the new damage is making the news and yes, it needs immediate attention. But what about the Burt Hill Road damage that has persisted for over a year with no fix in sight? Instead of using fundraising money for "holiday banners in Winchester and Ashuelot", how about using resources to fix the infrastructure in town - like roads that need repair.
yes, Waiting and wondering, also among a lot of other things in community needing attention that would make life better here on a daily basis.
Yes, Burt Hill is a mess and Staddle Hill is an accident waiting to happen. It boggles my mind that there is increased traffic on Burt Hill. It just goes to show that some people suffer from ODD-no does not apply to them.
Looks like the lack of preventive maintenance at hwy and not getting the jump on possible problem areas, like cleaning culverts and cleaning ditches, is going to cost the taxpayers a bundle. Maybe Dales good buddy's in the town hall should take a good look at how the hwy dept is being run. Bet there is someone out there that could turn this department around.
You bet your butt that someone else could come up with a plan that would make it easier for the town. I really do believe that at this point all of Dale's friends need to start asking questions. Every time I go down Burt Hill with his famous chip seal eroding I wonder what will happen. Maybe we could hire someone from the state to oversee this project and then convince them to go to work for the town. It would be dollars saved.
Oh, I have no clue how the heck we get an ambulance and fire truck up Burt Hill. This is a situation that has gone on longer than Old Westport Road.
Have a great day and drive on your roads as some of us can't.
After last night's rain Burt Hill is one car wide in some spots. Be careful as you start up the hill as the famous chip seal has eroded. I don't want to get caught in the gravel as my SUV may rollover and I may get hurt. We on the hill would like to thank Mr. Gray for taking care of this situation in a timely fashion. If I am not mistaken it has been about a year. Drive safely on Burt Hill and Staddle Hill.
Ok, so we went down Staddle Hill. The town has graded part of of it. The rest of the road gives new meaning t0 how will I get anywhere on this road and who is going to hit me head on. All of you who are reading this can think that I am a pain in our back side the only thing that I will tell all of you the those of us on Burt Hill have checked to make certain that we are in compliance when we tell the town suck it up we need to make sure that it is a Class 6 road. Fix it Dale and the selectmen now.
Isn’t it kind of suspicious the Burt Hill Road isn't fixed while the Watson Road to Gus Ruth's house was the first to be fixed before any other roads? Leonard Lawrence trucked load after load to just below and in front of Gus‘s house. Did the selectmen have Dale Gray fix Watson Road first to cover-up what really happened? Just down from the Ruth's one could see where a very large amount of water just borrowing out the woods from nowhere onto the Watson Road. Just dumping thousands and thousands of gallons of water out of the woods, not like it was a stream or brook that over flowed, there was nothing near or close by. The volume of water just came out of the nowhere . Humm! Does anyone wonder where the sudden deluge of water came from? Is there only one place a reasonable person can see that has this amount of water stored up on the Watson Road. Could it be from a beaver dam behind Gus Ruth house or is there a mystery brook hidden somewhere up there? If you ever wondered why your taxes keep going up and why there isn’t enough money to fix your Burt Hill Road. We keep fixing the Watson Road washing out time and time again. During Hurricane Katrina the Watson Road washed out taking the Verry Brook and the bridge on Old Westport Road that cost over $500,000.00 without the cost of the new bridge we replaced. Does all this volume of water come from one home owner’s arrogance who just happens to have a beaver dam or is there a mystery brook hiding in the woods somewhere up there?
I maybe wrong here but even a dead clock is right twice a day. Sometimes the worse critiques are the nice simply guys called your next door neighbor
Chip seal didn't make any sense to anyone, BUT I have an idea that it probably pays off for someone.
With the rain that is supposed to happen tonight and tomorrow has anyone checked the beaver dam? We probably will have to fix Watson Road again. Never mind that Burt Hill and Staddle Hill will be impassable. We may not be able to get off Burt Hill. The road is washing away. Maybe that's how we get it fixed.
Nothing will be done about your road or other town roads until someone that lives on Burt Hill sues the selectmen in court for not proving safe passable road at all times for police and ambulances. IT'S THE LAW! You do not have to be a lawyer to file. The clerks at the superior court will assist you. It would have to be files by someone that live on Burt Hill or Watson Road, so it wouldn't help you for anyone else to file. Just filing will change the selectmen's attitude. It is the only thing they understand.
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