At last week’s July 12 meeting, the Warren Select Board heard an update on the Sugarbush Access Road displacement.
Geostabilization International GAMM Group (GSI) conducted change detection analysis on the Sugarbush Access Road in Warren and determined there is displacement of the road along the entire road corridor. Ben Haugen and Dave Brogan of GSI presented the findings to the Warren Select Board.
They showed topographic maps indicating landslide and erosion activity since data was collected in 2013. Haugen noted there was “lots of movement on the southeast corner” of the road, as well as landslide activity on the south side of Clay Brook. He said most landslide and erosion activity took place along the banks of the river, which is to be expected.
“Ground movement is common in these types of scenarios,” he said. “This is a very landslide-prone area.” He indicated that the downward movement of the road surface appeared to be related to water flow and stormwater infrastructure.
GSI recommended additional monitoring of the area, such as periodic UAV flights using a drone to measure the displacement of the road surface and collecting more LiDAR data, which is more expensive than drone imaging, every two years.
They recommended getting additional data before and after repaving the road. They also recommended additional analysis to confirm that movement of the road is related to runoff, which may help drive future draining changes and prioritize which areas of the road should be addressed first to avoid costly major repairs.
They said GSI could provide a scope of services for these recommendations and the projected cost.
