State Working 24/7 to Reopen Route 116 in Cheshire
 The state has been working through the night to get Route 116 reopened by the holiday weekend. |
CHESHIRE, Mass. — With aid from the state, both Windsor Road and Route 116 may be reopened by July 4.
The Board of Selectmen reported during their meeting Tuesday night that the state is repairing the near $1 million worth of damage Route 116 sustained during last week’s torrential rainstorm.
"The state started working last night at 5 through the night, and they are doing the same thing tonight to get it done," Selectmen Chairwoman Carol A. Francesconi said.
Cheshire is still responsible for about $20,000 in damage on Windsor Road, where rains washed out both lanes in one spot. However, Highway Superintendent Peter LeFebvre said the road could possibly be open by Wednesday night.
He said the section is almost drivable where the hole was in the road and there is just debris left to clean up.
LeFebvre said he is focusing on saving money wherever he can in the repair work, but the biggest expense was the gravel needed to fill that massive hole.
"That hole is 30 feet wide 20 feet deep, plus 80 feet long, so it takes about 1,200 yards of gravel," LeFebvre said.
LeFebvre added that he thinks Cheshire's "beloved beavers" contributed to the water damage on Windsor Road.
"One of the big dams up there let go and released seven acres of water on top of what came down in the rainstorm," he said.
Although other roads in town received less damage, LeFebvre said flooding was still very bad.
"We probably had the worst street flooding during this storm in the center of town in 15 years," LeFebvre said.
Tags: bad weather, MassDOT, road damage, road work,
