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Engineers recommend box culvert, town to coordinate with GMP dam upgrade to fix Belden Falls Road washouts
Summary
Otter Creek Engineering recommended a 3-sided bridge/box culvert to address repeated washouts at the Belden Falls Road rail underpass and urged the Selectboard to coordinate work with Green Mountain Power’s planned dam upgrade. Cost estimates and permit work are in progress.
Chair John Roleau and the Selectboard convened a technical briefing July 21 as Otter Creek Engineering, VTrans and Green Mountain Power outlined options to stop recurring washouts at the Belden Falls Road railroad underpass.
Robert Clark of Otter Creek said the firm’s initial site assessment found the existing trestle abutments sit on bedrock and that there is not a feasible way to raise the road. To manage storm flows, Clark said the town needs designs that account for both 50- and 100-year storms. He presented two options and said the second is preferable: "a 3-sided bridge / box culvert with a corrugated cast pipe would be the best option to maximize the culvert flow," which also would shorten construction time for the culvert replacement.
The presentation noted Green Mountain Power plans to upgrade the hydroelectric dam at the end of Belden Falls Road in the coming years; board members and utility and state representatives discussed coordinating construction so GMP service vehicles can pass under the trestle. VTrans representatives and Otter Creek staff also warned that stormwater runoff from Route 7 and state permit requirements must be integrated into the design and schedule.
Robert Clark said he is preparing a cost estimate and formal plan for the town. The Selectboard thanked the parties for meeting and did not take a vote on a design at the session; Clark and town staff will return with cost and permitting details for next steps.
