More Vermont Summer Flood Updates As Recovery Continues

Floodwater beginning to recede in Hinesburg, Vermont
on July 11 after causing a lot of damage. Recovery from
the summer floods continues, with a variety of updates
coming in as we move on from the disasters. 

 Now that we're leaving our hot, humid, awful flood-wracked Vermont summer, there's always a few updates to the stories of the disasters, so here's just a few. 

Lyndonville Bridge

The Sanborn Covered Bridge will return to its perch over the Passumpsic River in Lyndonville after all.

The bridge had been removed from its spot over the river for restoration. There was never any question of whether the bridge would be restored. But would it need to give up its function as a river crossing?

The Lyndon area and the Passumpsic River have flooded with increasing frequency and severity in recent years, thanks in large part to climate change. People in the region are looking for ways to mitigate these floods.

The Sanborn covered bridge and its abutments are a pinch point in the Passumpsic River, possibly worsening floods upstream. So the question was whether the bridge should go back up where it has been so long. 

As WCAX reports, after feedback from Lyndon residents, the bridge will be placed back over the river this fall. However, adjustments will be made to its abutments to allow water to pass through more easily. 

Tourism Steady

Despite the international headlines regarding Vermont's floods this summer, the all-important tourism traffic  to Vermont seemed to be steady, WCAX also reports. Their article didn't have much in the way of numbers, revenue and that kind of thing. Mostly, I believe because it's too soon to tally things like sales tax and rooms and meals tax revenue for the summer. 

Bookings for the fall foliage tourism season in Vermont seem to be running a little ahead of last year, too. 

Still, as reported earlier this summer, not everyone is doing well after the flooding. Nearly 350 Vermont businesses have already reported flood damage.  And businesses in some of the hardest hit communities like Lyndonville, East Burke, Plainfield and Barre are still struggling. 

Snowmobile Trails In Rough Shape

Vermont has about 5,000 miles of snowmobile trails, and those are an important part of the state's winter tourism. As WPTZ reports, so far, there's at least $1 million in damage to the trails and that damage is scattered over wide areas. 

Getting things fixed in time for winter will be complicated. As WPTZ says:

"The trails that span near 5,000 miles across the state are split between locally owned land, state land and private property, which makes it harder to qualify for flood help."

Still, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, which maintains the trails, say volunteers are helping fix the damage and the trails should largely be in good shape this winter. 

If it snows for a change.  

Humidity, Rain Contribute To Late Schools

Some schools in Vermont have delayed openings this fall because of hazardous mold. The problem is a combination of outdated HVAC systems and an especially humid summer that contributed to moisture in school buildings, and resulting mold. 

By some meteorologists' estimates, this has been the most humid summer on record in Vermont. All that lingering moisture has created mold issues in schools like Otter Valley High School, Milton Elementary, and Moretown Elementary. 

Moretown Elementary was damaged by flooding last December. 

"We are seeing a lot of flooding, a lot of rain, a lot of moisture and similar to our roads and infrastructure, our schools are not ready, they're not prepared for these kinds of changes," Sen. Brian Campion, the chair of the Vermont Senate Education Committee told WPTZ. 

Some FEMA Aid Delayed

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is once again out of cash, and that will delay some assistance to Vermont towns and cities that suffered damage this summer, Vermont Public reports. 

Individual homeowners and renters in seven Vermont counties can still get funds from FEMA.  More than 500 people have applied.

But as Vermont Public tells us, FEMA is technically out of cash, so they can't pay local and state governments to fix roads, bridges and other infrastructure. 

That money should come through eventually, but Congress has to pass a budget first. Good luck with that, as the U.S. Senate and especially House can't seem to get anything done these days.  

A Vermont Traffic Cam Proves The "Bridges Freeze Before Roads" Warnings

Northbound Interstate 89 Exit 10 in Waterbury,
Vermont this morning in this screen grab from a 
Vermont Agency of Transportation webcam. Note the
area of snow and ice ahead of the vehicle. That's
a bridge, showing how they DO freeze before the road.

As of early afternoon, road conditions had vastly improved in Vermont since this morning. 

The snow has stopped, and there were only a few patches of non-freezing drizzle left behind. Most places were a little above freezing as of 2 p.m. 

This morning, the worry was bridges and overpasses freezing even if roadways stayed fairly clear due to warm ground temperatures. 

That set up is especially dangerous, because speeding traffic encountering frozen pavement on bridges is a recipe for crashes.

There was a great illustration of the bridges freeze before road rule this morning on a Vermont Agency of Transportation webcam. It showed Interstate 89 northbound in Waterbury, including Exit 10 to Route 100.

The long exit ramp includes a bridge over Graves Brook. The screen grab in this post shows what the exit looked like during this morning's storm. Click on the image in this post to make it bigger and easier to see. 

As you can see, the Interstate, and most of the exit ramp looked just wet, maybe a little slushy.  But see that stripe of white in front of the vehicle taking the exit?  That's the bridge I was talking about. It was snow and ice covered, unlike the rest of the road.

The vehicle in the photo appeared to be braking, the motorist probably wisely anticipating the ice on the bridge. 

The bridges freeze before road rule will be with us all winter. But it's especially prevalent this time of year, when lingering warmth in the ground radiates to the road surface. There's no ground under bridges, obviously, so those overpasses get cold, quickly. 

Let this be a lesson: Don't let icy bridges surprise you this winter. Keep your speed steady and slow on approach to the bridge.  Don't smash your foot on the brake as soon as you are on the bridge.  You will probably spin out. Don't do any sharp accelerations or turn your steering wheel much. Just coast across to the other side.  

By the way, if a thermometer in your car says it's above freezing, don't necessarily trust it. It might be, say, 34 degrees. But it could well have been below freezing recently, and the bridge might not have had a chance to thaw out yet. 

All this is just a word to the wise, as it's just the start of winter.