Road bosses on alert for ponding, flooding issues

An area of ponding on Garage Way at the Milton/Lebanon town line. (Harrison Thorp photo)

Area road crews are keeping close tabs on ponding on local streets and taking action when necessary, say local road bosses.

Lebanon Road Commissioner Larry Torno said this morning that there had been reports of localized minor flooding on Upper Cross, Upper Guinea, Lower Barley, Pond View and Prospect Hill roads.

He said crews had been dispatched to pop holes in snowbanks to allow the water to escape, but that as the rate of precipitation slows down, the problem should take care of itself.

Milton Highway Dept. boss Pat Smith said much the same, but added that so far there had been no significant problems in the town.

Meanwhile, both road bosses said they had used significantly more funds for plowing and sanding this year than is average.

Torno said this year’s snow budget is pretty much gone and that additional money spent would mean less road work could be done come spring. He added that paving a little over a half mile of Shapleigh Road near Five Corners that he had planned for this year could be in jeopardy with all the money expended on snow removal and sanding. He said that in a normal year his crews have to sand 10 or 15 times and they’ve already had to sand 31 times this year.

Meanwhile, Smith said as of Feb. 10 he’d spent $52,381 on plowing and sanding and that didn’t include the three most recent storms. He said he’d spent almost $6,800 on overtime alone.

Rochester Dept. of Public Works officials were not immediately available for this report.