FEMA has approved a grant to the town of Waitsfield to stabilize approximately 425 feet of the riverbank at the historic Bridge Street Marketplace location in Waitsfield, according to Vermont Emergency Management.
This project has been funded under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) in connection with disaster DR 1951. The area to be mitigated is the riverbank just upstream of the 1833 village covered bridge. Implementation of this project will significantly reduce the severe flood-related erosion risk to this historic area and is designed to protect the Waitsfield town offices/library, surrounding homes and the Bridge Street Marketplace from future flooding events.
Kari Dolan with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources was instrumental in getting this grant approved by FEMA. Dolan is also a member of the Waitsfield Planning Commission. The project also had the full support of Ray Doherty, state hazard mitigation officer at Vermont Emergency Management. To its credit, the town of Waitsfield has been proactive in adopting strict fluvial erosion measures and river corridor protection ordinances, and this helped lend support to the HMGP application and ultimate FEMA approval, according to Ray Doherty at Vermont Emergency Management.
At the present time, the Mad River’s banks are actively eroding as the river migrates laterally, threatening the historic village area and impacting the state’s oldest covered bridge still in use. The catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Irene caused further erosion around the covered bridge abutments and caused heavy flooding losses for the many businesses on Bridge Street, the surrounding homes and the Waitsfield town offices. The goal of this mitigation project is to prevent further river channel migration which could permanently damage the historic Bridge Street village area. After project completion, the village covered bridge and marketplace will have a much greater level of protection against future flood-related damages.
It is anticipated that this project will get underway sometime in the current year. The project is estimated to cost $144,000 and FEMA will provide a grant to cover 75 percent of total project costs. The state of Vermont will cover the 25 percent local share for this project. When completed, it is anticipated that future flood risk from the Mad River will be significantly reduced at the Bridge Street location.
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