WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town and Williams College are working to repair a damaged brook bank that led to erosion issues on the access road to the transfer station.

 

Town Manager Robert Menicocci said Wednesday that the town reached out to both abutters of the town-owned property, the college and CSX Corp., owner of the nearby railroad.

 

"The railroad is obviously part of a larger corporation," Menicocci said. "It's not an easy partner to work with or even get in touch with. We reached out to them to keep them apprised, too.

 

"We talked to the college and have an agreement to get a quick fix that should be relatively inexpensive to keep the water moving where it's supposed to move."

 

Earlier this spring, the brook flowed over the road, leaving it under an inch of water but still passable.

 

"Obviously, there was a lot of snow melt that caused things to get up to capacity," Menicocci said. "Fortunately, we didn't have a large rain event with the timing of the snow melt. It resulted in some minor flooding. … It made navigating there something you had to pay attention to."

 

He said that at no point was there enough water to interrupt the transfer station's regular operating hours.

 

But the erosion that came with the overflow took out a noticeable chunk of the access road on the west side of the road. By Wednesday morning, that chunk was filled in with stones.

 

Menicocci said permanent road repairs should not require any closure of the access road. The same goes for the work that is planned for the nearby brook, which is difficult to access due to vegetation but far enough from the road that the repair work should not interfere with access to the transfer station.

 

As for the road itself, it is safe for vehicles, including the large trucks that haul refuse and recycling out of the station. But the town will continue to monitor the road bed, Menicocci said.

 

"Any time something happens, we will look at, once the water subsides, what kind of repairs need to be made," he said. "What we're always concerned about is high flow rates and erosion that can happen with things like that.

 

"There's nothing of major concern. Once the water gets out of the way, we'll take a look at that point to see if anything needs to be addressed or any culvert work is needed."