CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town is looking at different options to restore a portion of Windsor Road that was washed out during Monday night's storm.
Highway Department Superintendent Blair Crane told the Selectmen on Tuesday that a section of the Windsor Road embankment below Notch Road was washed out after a catch basin filled with debris and failed to divert water.
"It was literally missing and it's in the river about 3 feet deep and over 100 feet long and all the way to the bottom of the hill which I estimate to be about 100 feet," Crane said. "So a considerable amount of material just vanished and the water is still bleeding out of the hill."
Crane said there were many factors to the washout and considered the incident a "perfect storm."
He said although the department spent time before the storm cleaning out catch basins, debris still made its ways into the catch basin. The storm dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain over a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service.
"The wind was blowing pretty good and it blew stuff into the catch basins," he said. "A lot of people in town have the tendency to blow their leaves and grass out into the street, which then washes into the drains when we get rain. It exacerbates the problem."
He added that because it is fall there is less vegetation "sucking up" the water.
Crane said the road needs be repaired sooner than later with more rain possibly coming Thursday and winter right around the corner.
"The number one issue right now is to try to retain the road in its best condition so we don't have to replace it," he said. "If it continues to deteriorate and continues to rain and the weather gets bad we could literally lose the road."
He said he has been periodically checking the road and looking out for cracks and movement and so far, it is structurally sound.
One lane of the road is open and there are limited options to fix the problem because of the steep terrain.
Crane said a "road" could be built down the bank so equipment can be sent down to rebuild the road from the bottom up.
"You would literally have to take the asphalt out of the road and dig to the bottom and build yourself a road to the bottom of the ravine and then literally build ourselves back out of it," he said. "But that is time-consuming."
He said the road would have to be completely closed for the duration of the repair – this would mean a much longer commute for residents who live in the area. This occurred last year when the Sand Mill Road Bridge was closed, forcing some residents to take a 4-mile detour to get home.
Crane said his preferred option would to somehow get a crane situated on the road and use its reach to pick up materials and place them downhill. He said this would allow one lane to be open to traffic and would be quicker.
He added it would still be no easy feat.
"It's a tough spot all the way around especially off the cuff," he said. "If you had time to sit around and think about it it would be better, but we have to move quickly."
Crane said he does have funds to pay for the repair out of Chapter 90 and has preliminary approval from the state to use the funds.
Town Administrator Mark Webber said the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency suggested looking for funds through the state.
"MEMA recommended that in the meantime we get more documents and estimates together and seek the assistance of our state senator to lean on Mass Highway because this is such a unique situation," he said. "We were the only town in the county that was impacted to this level."
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Hoosac Valley High School to Stage 'Suessical'
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