More than 260 Vermont roads were damaged or washed away in recent flooding.
So were more than 35 bridges, and miles of railroad tracks. The day after
Irene, state and local officials began the work of rebuilding Vermont’s devastated transportation infrastructure, with the
goal of having all the roads passable again by winter. We talk to Rich
Tetreault, the director of program development at the Agency of Transportation
and the state’s chief engineer, and to Seth Webb, the incoming town manager in
Killington, about the challenges of reconstructing Vermont’s roads and railways. We also look at whether there
are specific methods of rebuilding that can help minimize such widespread
destruction in the future.
Also on the program, State
Representative Willem Jewett of Ripton discusses his town’s experience working
with FEMA in 2008, and has some recommendations for towns just beginning the
process.