You’ve seen the pictures: washed-away tracks, crumbling roads, debris and flood damage everywhere. The once-in-a-millennium storm that hit the Naugatuck Valley last week caused destruction of biblical proportions. And rebuilding will take weeks, possibly months.
First, the Connecticut Department of Transportation must secure the damaged areas, remove the debris, and inspect for structural damage. If necessary, damaged bridges will be replaced with temporary bridges from a stockpile of such bridges stored for such cases. Some of these temporary bridges may have weight restrictions. In the meantime, expect delays and slow travel through an obstacle course of pylons and repair crews.
Above all, we need patience. Even though the damage caused by the storm occurred within minutes, it will take some time for everything to return to normal.
The good news (if there is any) is that most disaster reconstruction is funded by federal funds and can be done more quickly without environmental studies and competitive bidding. As one CDOT veteran says, “This is going to be a great time for contractors.”
As we enjoy the last week of summer, we should not let the beautiful weather fool us. Storms can strike at any time… and will strike us again. The question is how we can rebuild better and prevent future flooding.
While most of the existing bridges and culverts were built to withstand 50-year storms, there is no way to redesign them to withstand a 1,000-year storm like the one we experienced last week. It’s simply not practical or affordable… although such storms are certainly more common.
You can track the progress of reconstruction and potential delays. The best resource is the CDOT website CTRoads.com, which is useful for anticipating traffic and delays even in good weather.
No doubt the CDOT website will track the progress of the reconstruction, as this agency has done much more work in recent years to improve the transparency of its work. Kudos to CDOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto and his teams for their efforts thus far and their frequent updates.
But when the bad weather returns (and it will) – where will you look for warnings? How will you know if it’s safe to drive, and where?
Of course there are websites and social media, but nothing beats the local radio station… the people who know your community best. But will they help you? Do you even know the frequency of your local station? And do they even have a functioning news department?
The demise of news giant WCBS 880 in New York City this week is a sign of a dangerous trend. While some of my old radio friends, like Connecticut natives Paul Murnane and Joe Connolly, have lost their jobs, we have lost an incredible source of information.
In its nearly 57 years of exclusively reporting news, WCBS got us through 9/11, Sandy and countless snowstorms. They were a reliable, 24/7 resource in our cars and homes (even without power, if we were prepared). We will miss them terribly.
Don’t let what happened to them happen in your community. Support your local media, print and broadcast. Listen, subscribe and use their advertisers. Keep them in business so they’re there when we need them most.
