(Host) Four months and a day after Tropical Storm Irene, the last stretch of damaged highway has officially reopened.
Route 107 between Bethel and Stockbridge was cleared for traffic this afternoon.
The storm damaged or destroyed more than 500 miles of roads and 200 bridges. But it was the Route 107 repair that posed the single biggest engineering challenge.
Deputy transportation Secretary Sue Minter says in one 10-mile stretch, work crews has to repair 42 separate sections of highway. She said the work has become a national model for post-flood recovery.
(Minter) It is due to the incredible hard work, sacrifice, dedication, mission-driven spirit of the men and women who work for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and all the people working with us. And I just want to express my gratitude to all of the,, and their families who sacrificed to get us where we are today.
(Host) Minter says the newly re-opened Route 107 will look different to many drivers. She says the high water took out many trees and extensive repairs were required for the river banks.