Hinesburg dealing with significant, expensive road repairs

HINESBURG, Vt. (WCAX) - As the water recedes, the full extent of damage is becoming clear. Expensive repairs will be on the shoulders of towns to fix public roads, and on families to fix private roads.

Dump trucks and excavators are working to fill the washout on Texas Hill Road in Hinesburg.

“It was torrential and deafening,” said Jennifer Greenwood of Hinesburg.

As rain poured down in Hinesburg Wednesday night, people in the community held their breath.

“You could hear the boulders falling down the brook, and you could almost feel them, or maybe you could feel them, like a little bit of shakes, so it was a little scary,” said Bob Stahl of Hinesburg.

Contractor Tim Mitchell says he was up all night. He got the call at 4:30 a.m. from the town asking him to start working, and as the sun rose, he began to see what he was dealing with.

“I’ve never seen this much damage before up here,” Mitchell said.

“It’s pretty significant and pretty widespread,” Hinesburg Town Manager Todd Odit said.

Odit says around 15 public roads in Hinesburg were washed out and many more private roads received damage, too, leaving 20 households without access to a road.

“I’m stranded but it’s fine,” Stahl said. “These guys are doing their work and I’ll be out in a day or two.”

Contractors and town managers were unsure of an exact timeline for road repairs, just saying it would “take days.”

Along the washout on Texas Hill Road, Mitchell is making process.

“We’ve got one more private family road just ahead here, I think there’s three homes on it, and the goal for today is to get that opened up,” he said.

The damage on Bishop Road is remarkable, with similar sights across town.

Odit says he wouldn’t be surprised if it costs over $1 million to fix the town’s public roads, forcing Hinesburg to take out loans.

Those living on private roads may have to foot the bill.

“People don’t plan and it can be a pretty big expense. You’re probably talking about $30,000, $40,000, $50,000,” Odit said.

With roads under repair, the Chittenden Solid Waste District’s Hinesburg location will be closed on Saturday so they can fix the roads near the dump.

The flooding also caused severe damage to a road in nearby Charlotte. The road took a hit from all that water. That section of Spear Street is closed because of it.

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