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By Guy Page
The removal of at least one covered bridge in Lyndon is the leading candidate for future flood mitigation.
Efforts to restore a historic Vermont covered bridge in Lyndon could be undone as part of flood mitigation efforts, according to today’s edition of the Caledonian-Record, the daily newspaper published in St. Johnsbury.
Lyndon has been ground zero for catastrophic flooding this summer, hit first on July 10-11 and then again a week ago Monday July 29 and into Tuesday after a microburst of heavy evening and early morning rain. Now a flood mitigation committee is looking at several alternatives – and the leading option is removing the Sanborn Bridge, which was targeted for acquistion by the Town of Lyndon in 2021 to promote tourism and culture.
According to a report this morning in the Caledonian-Record, the Hazard Mitigation Committee last Tuesday heard a preliminary report on 14 potential flood fixes for downtown Lyndon from a Waterbury engineering firm.
“The report showed that removing the Sanborn Covered Bridge and 2-6 feet of fill from its southern approach would reduce the greatest flood along the Passumpsic River,” the Caledonian-Record reported.
This action would reduce flooding on a nearby mobile home park and state highway, the report said. But the Sanborn Bridge is now the subject of a $2.2 million renovation project of the Sanborn Covered Bridge.
The debate over removing the Sanborn Covered bridge demonstrates the tradeoffs between the intense, recent push for flood mitigation and other priorities, including promoting housing, parks, tourism, and Vermont’s historic tradition.
Covered bridges were originally a climate decision: The typical wooden bridge simply couldn’t last long under the winter elements. Solution: cover it. Now the pressing climate challenge is flooding, and the solution may be…. at least one less Vermont covered bridge.
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Categories: Local government, Weather
No more tourism calendar pictures for that bridge and I believe more iconic picturesque bridges. Saw an interesting program on PBS NOVA about replacing a covered bridge last week, in China. They built the bridge on land, towed it into place across the river on a steel flat structure, Jacked it up to slide onto concrete footings. Well above any possible flooding. Then removed the steel structure. The in-out road across the bridge was graded up so traffic could traverse the bridge and then back down to existing roads. The same could be done with the Lyndon Covered Bridge and save a tourist attraction. The program will be repeated or streamline. Quite an operation. The NOVA show highlighted many such bridges, in the US, Europe & China. Wooden covered bridges can and do outlast steel constructed ones.
In Townshend VT, the Scott bridge was closed to only foot traffic. It was rebuilt as a tourist iconic VT setting. It was about one of the longest covered bridges in the state. I took many pics of the structure. It’s located about 3 miles north of the town on Route 30. If they can do that with this bridge, it can be done with the much smaller Lyndon bridge. That may be the salvage result for VT covered bridges. The construction crew can be located and would quote the project. Nice guys when talking with them, they knew what they were doing. They kept some good old beams and integrated them with the new. Many people stop and take pics, especially in the leaf peeping time.
Have to think out of the box, Montpelier will have to get out of the box and do beneficial thinking, if capable.
That’s a beautiful bridge. It would be a shame.
Perhaps there should be some “Stupidity Mitigation” applied to the irresponsible members of the “Flood Mitigation Committee” who want to remove the iconic Sanborn Covered Bridge. Instead, how about the removal and replacement of the fools who are eager to destroy more of Vermont’s treasured history…
(The Right Mark)
History, beauty, and associated tourism mean nothing to Communist countries; they are mere reminders of a sweeter life, and purer passions pursued & can thereby be construed as a danger. And anyway, in VT, all monies NOT entirely spent on social justice, “equity”, and climate alarmism are monies poorly spent.
try mitigating eight inch rain events//// florida weather warfare//// thirty inches of rain//// another storm weather event///
My takeaway is that globally the same solution is being applied systematically, which is to remove covered bridges. I will have to check the United Nations and World Economic Forum on this. The World Economic Forum has multiple offices in China.
Is that all they can think of? LOL. All American states are wonderful, but certain states are iconic: Vermont, Texas, California, Florida, and those are the ones first attacked. Instead of talking to the Dutch or the Venetians on how to deal with this mess (dams and dykes? picturesque canals in St. Johnsbury?), they attack the icon of the icon.
Always inspiring, even if just a memory. Passage through a covered bridge reminds me of the sparrow’s flight through the mead hall and its role in the conversion of King Edwin.
COVERED BRIDGE
By Ellin Anderson
Was it the future, or the past:
The way things were, or are at last,
When every winter traveler’s way
Is traversed in a horse-drawn sleigh
Through brittle mornings, bleak with cold,
On marble byways, newly rolled.
It doesn’t matter when — or who
Was in that sledge — but briskly, through
The hills they glided, to a ridge
That crested in a covered bridge
Quite lately stained a sober grey
On the last mild October day.
The horses whinnied through their bits,
And stopped, and stamped their feet — in fits
And starts, they moved towards the gap.
The driver gave her whip a snap,
But still, they would not deign to go
Into the gloom, with rocks below.
Clouds blocked the sun — the north wind blew
Sharp snow — and then, a sparrow flew
Over their heads, and through the door
Of passage to that further shore
In darkness, never heeding when
Or whether he’d emerge again.
And then, responding to his prompt,
The horses gave a neigh, and clomped
Onto the old bridge, which they crossed
Just like that trusting bird was tossed
Upon the wind, whose rushing tide
Helped bear him to the other side.
But landing softly, like a wraith,
No sparrow, but the bird of faith
Perched on a high branch far above
The snowy field — a snow-white dove
Had closed their game of hide and seek,
A sprig of berries in his beak.
Now free at last, beyond the dark,
Those travelers were quick to mark
A sunlit farm that sat due east,
Where they would find a New Year’s feast,
And glow of kindly warmth, within
The fond embrace of all their kin.
But how unlike that sparrow’s flight
Into the darkness, to the light,
This house of life, so safe and warm!
Outside, the strong and silent storm
Of infinite Eternity
Stretches above a pathless sea
Where souls seek passage to far lands,
Like birds that flutter to His hands!
I’d love to hear the rationale for/explanation as to how removal of a covered bridge will mitigate flooding. That oughta be a good one (all sarcasm intended). Sounds like yet another of those silly studies by the DEC so-called “river engineers” in an attempt to justify their existence or the pointy headed academics from UVM designed solely to get themselves published somewhere…anywhere.