Early winter's wrath wreaks havoc on snow budgets

Ponding around Lakeside Market late Monday afternoon after Milton road crews had already tried unsuccessfully to mitigate the problem. (Harrison Thorp photos)

It’s barely two weeks into winter and Rochester’s snow budget is already 60 percent expended, a department spokesperson confirmed on Monday, punctuating a punishing early start to what could be a long winter for road crews and town coffers.

After December events like blizzards, freezing rain and damaging wind and ice storms, on Monday area public works crews contended with flooding and road ponding, the most serious cases being found in Lebanon and Milton.

In Milton, Public Works Director Pat Smith said crews tried to stem flooding around Lakeside Market and Porter Road by moving a snowbank to accommodate a state-run drainage area for Route 125 (White Mountain Highway), but to no avail. It remained unabated late Monday afternoon and was expected to freeze overnight unless state crews arrived to continue the effort, Smith said.

A car, with its headlights on for safety, creeps through a fog-enshrouded downtown Milton on Monday afternoon.

Smith said he expected to be out dumping sand and salt overnight as conditions warranted. He said with this season’s stormy December, the town had used a significant amount of ice and salt, but that his new budget started on Jan. 1 and it would take a couple of more months to ascertain how significant any shortfall might be.

In Lebanon, Road Boss Larry Torno said the most severe flooding on Monday was near STS Construction at the corner of Creamery Hill and Route 202. He said he was working with STS to fix the problem.

He said there had been some smaller ponding problems on town roads, but a couple of one-tons were out “pushing the ice around” to keep catch basins and storm drains working.

He expected to be out overnight if conditions warranted, but that with road pavements as warm as they were on Monday (around 45 degrees) it might not be necessary.

Torno said that the most recent snowstorm cost the town about $30,000 plowing, sanding and salting before all was said and done. He said at the height of the storm – when all plows are in service – it’s about $1,000 an hour.

Torno said the town had been running low on salt, but 10 loads were delivered on Monday. He said he had enough sand for two more storms.

Road bosses agreed that dirt roads were the most dangerous when surfaces refreeze quickly like overnight after Monday’s unseasonably mild temperatures.

Meanwhile, Rochester road crews reported no significant flooding on Monday.