Gerry B
Mini Bike
I took a ride up through Rte 112 in Western Mass to lower Vermont to see for myself just how things looked. Most of 112 in Mass was in great shape until I got to around Shelburn Mass. Route 2 West going toward North Adams is closed due to road washouts. Shelburn Falls area was destroyed flood damage everywhere. The Bridge of Flowers and the road bridge beside it seem to be OK. But the riverside businesses are wrecked. Mud everywhere, using bucket loaders to push sediment off to the sides of the roads. The road edges are terrible, many totally washed away. They had all the furniture, carpet, tables, etc., etc. push into big piles to be hauled away. It was incredibly sad. I continued up 112 North towards Colrain MA. Past some woodworking company that used to have a diverter dam on the river to direct water into the plant. The river flooded so hard the dam burst and now it's totally destroyed. Evidence of flood damage all along the road. The power company was out in the middle of a field checking large high tension poles for damage from where the river overflowed. What is normally a trickling stream beside the roadways became an incredible roaring monster. Farther up 112 at the Vermont border was where I got my first taste of real damage. 1/2 of the road was totally gone, right up to the double yellow line. The guard rail crumpled like aluminum foil and was in the middle of the stream that became the swollen river for a short time. VT DOT working their butts off to get stuff even passable. The road from that point North was very scary, I'd come around a corner to find cones and signs warning of road damage. Entire sections of road edges gone. Water had washed down from the roads and undermined the roadway. Totally eaten out from underneath. Sections of the other side of the river bank 60 feet tall had been washed into the river and are on the way to Long Island Sound. Tree damage was astounding. Many of those famous Vermont dirt roads washed out and impassible. Road graders working hard to restore them to usable form. When they harvest hay in VT, they wrap the circular bales in white plastic for winter storage. It looked like Mother Nature threw marsh mellows everywhere. They were all along the riverbanks, in trees, sitting in the middle of fields, ripped open white plastic in the tree limbs... I followed 112 to 100 North towards Wilmington. What a surprise I got there! Wilmington Center, where the light is to go North towards Mt Snow is totally devastated. The road West (route 9) stops there. There is major washouts on Rte 9 towards Bennington. Incidentally, Rte 9 East towards Brattleboro is also closed for the same reason. But getting back to Wilmington with its quaint shops and restaurants is a mess... the river water mark was probably 10 feet high. Dots restaurant in the middle of town was toast. The river undermined the bank it sat on. (sorry Wess) However I did have lunch at the Dots near Mount Snow and they told me they will be rebuilding the downtown one some day. The brewery downtown that JR liked... ruined. Just total loss. The police station was being pumped out by a hazmat truck. I'm told many places had gasoline in them from a local station. Riding up 100 I was floored by the width of the river damage. The building supply place on the right going North was closed. I was curious why since they are the local supply place. They had a huge mess of their own. Flood damage from across the street! I stopped to have lunch at Dots near Mt Snow and talked with the waitress there. She was busy putting together 47 lunch bags for the next day for the national guard guys working further North. Dots is making them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner every day. They have a truck come down and pick up the meals and deliver it 3 times a day. She said that this Dots was lucky they had stocked up heavy for the holiday weekend and had plenty of food and water and electricity. She said they just got the roads passable for SYSCO trucks to get to them to resupply them. It was there I found out the only way back home was the way I came up. No quick blast East on Rte 9 to 91 South. That did provide me with a different perspective because I was riding in the direction the flood waters flowed. It was a different ride altogether. I saw the base of each phone pole had hay and grasses and branches wrapped around them showing how the water flowed. When I got back to Shelburn Mass I decided to take Rte 2 East and pickup the highway. Once again, Mother Nature had other plans... Rte 91 South was closed completely. The authorities say the bridge over the Greenfield river has damage to it and they fear it may collapse. So I got routed towards downtown to Rte 5 which is a secondary road that sort of parallels I-91. That's when I got to see how much damage Greenfield Mass got! Again, high water marks on roads and buildings. Mud everywhere, flooded houses with all the possessions pushed out to the curb windows and doors opened... An entire golf course ruined by silt and mud and washouts. All in all this ride was very depressing. I wasn't prepared to see just how bad it all was and I didn't see the worst of it either. One thing I did see a lot of was neighbor helping neighbor. People banding together with a common purpose. Sure, times are tough all over, but if you have breath in your lungs, don't forget your neighbors. Get to know them, they might just save your life some day...
