WENDELL — The town will likely use highway budget money for paving work made necessary by July’s massive rainstorms.
Phil Delorey, chair of the Wendell Road Commissioners, attended Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting to update members on the damage caused by last month’s torrential downpours. He said repaving Farley Road will cost about $83,000 and should not wait.
About $42,500 was already spent on repairs to Farley Road, where 200 feet of roadway was significantly undercut with water and ditches were washed away, Delorey explained. He also said about 700 yards of fill (stone and other material) were used “to try and put the road back together.” He said it was so saturated there was concern two weeks ago that the road would be destroyed with just one more rainstorm.
“So, to make it complete and safe from storms, there’s a paving project there and so that’s what the immediate goal is that I have, that the Road Commission has, is to see that paved,” Delorey explained, adding that broken asphalt will be cut away and then roughly 220 feet of roadway will be repaved.
“I’ve driven down it and it looks like they did a really beautiful job,” Selectboard Chair Dan Keller said of the road crews’ work so far.
Delorey said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) representatives plan to come to town on Aug. 16 “to do their assessments of the damages.”
“What we’re going to determine is how far we can go at this time without any confirmation from FEMA or MEMA, what they’re going to do for us, or when it’s going to happen,” he explained.
Delorey said repairs around town could cost between $525,000 and $600,000. Keller recommended calling a Special Town Meeting to take money out of the stabilization fund. But Douglas Tanner, chair of the Finance Committee, who attended Wednesday’s meeting via speakerphone, said the money can be taken from the highway budget.
Delorey also mentioned a culvert near Diemand Farm needs to be replaced. He said engineers estimated the cost at $312,000 a few years ago. The project would have to go out to bid if the decision is made to replace it.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.