With flooding severely impacting Saint Johnsbury and other parts of the Northeast Kingdom this week, VTrans continues to have its hands full dealing with the aftermath of the July 10 flooding that walloped Central Vermont, including The Valley.
Route 100 near the bottom of Ward Hill in Duxbury reopened on July 26, reconnecting Duxbury and Waterbury. That road has been closed since July 10 when Dowsville Brook destroyed a bridge there as well as another on Route 100B.
With Route 100 open again, the additional road damage between Duxbury and Waterbury is readily apparent in the many gravel sections where the road washed out completely or in part due to the torrential rain. The impact of that much rain is seen in the narrow brooks that have now carved out much deeper channels, as well as the ditches and driveways that were overrun and are being rebuilt.
Work continues on Route 100B where a temporary bridge was installed, reopening earlier last week. The bridge will be replaced within the next couple of years per VTrans.
Work is also underway on the streambanks of Dowsville, with one lane closures on Route 100. One-lane closures are also found on Route 17 where the July 10 flooding initially closed portions of the road and work is now underway to fix the many partial washouts.
Local town road crews continue to work to repair damage to town roads with some roads still closed, including Stevens Brook Road between Duxbury and Moretown. That road may open sometime this week. Portions of Camel’s Hump Road in Duxbury are open only to local traffic.
In its email to town residents, the Duxbury Select Board noted that it had closed Camel’s Hump Road to all but residents and service traffic and asked the state to post access to the Camel’s Hump Park trailhead closed in Duxbury.
“Our actions are designed to minimize impact on a fragile section of road critical for the 10 or so residences above it to have continued safe access,” the board wrote.
At a special select board meeting on July 29, 2024, the Duxbury Select Board approved a proposal from Dale E. Percy Contractors to repair this section of that road. That work is scheduled to start August 12.
