Department of Transportation

NYSDOT Helps Restore Roads In Flood Ravaged Region

When six to eight inches of rain fell during a few short hours on the evening of June 19, roads in Delaware, Sullivan and Broome counties were devastated by flash flooding.

Enter the New York State Department of Transportation.

With a need for a quick cleanup of the major damage to the many county and local roads to make them passable and safe, NYSDOT staff descended on the region. They worked closely with officials in those counties and especially with the Town of Colchester and surrounding towns to assess damage and to make emergency repairs to municipally owned roads and bridges.

The damage was so bad that, after touring the devastated area, Governor Eliot Spitzer made a formal request to declare the region a federal disaster area.

Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn applauded Department personnel for their hard work and dedication in coordinating with local forces to bring these roads back to a passable condition.

Sixty-nine regional NYSDOT employees — including bridge inspection teams, field staff, equipment support staff, and emergency operations staff — have been deployed to assist in restoration efforts. An additional 15 NYSDOT employees from around the State have been reassigned to this area or are working remotely to support these efforts.

NYSDOT currently has 38 pieces of equipment deployed and has rented an additional four pieces of equipment, including Variable Message Signs (VMS), large dump trucks, four-wheel drive trucks, bull dozers and excavators.

While state routes sustained no major damage, NYSDOT responded to the disaster by mobilizing forces to assist local municipalities in recovery efforts. The Department has been charged with restoring roads to a passable condition. This may include filling washed-out road shoulders, stabilizing roadways to prevent further erosion, and cleaning up debris.

NYSDOT staff is concentrating on restoring service to Holiday Brook and Berry Brook Roads, which are now passable for emergency vehicles. NYSDOT staff constructed a temporary one-lane on-site detour roadway to bypass a culvert carrying Berry Brook Road that was compromised by flood damage.

NYSDOT has been working and will continue to work in cooperation with the National Guard, New York State Thruway Authority, New York State Canal Corp., State Emergency Management Office, State Police and local governments to help clean up and reinstate important services to the area.

To read more about how NYSDOT helped restore roads in the flood ravaged region, please view the press release.

(Photos courtesy State Emergency Management Office and NYSDOT Region 9)