Vermont Route 107 between Bethel and Stockbridge — a major east-west route through the state closed for four months due to damage caused by Hurricane Irene — finally reopened Thursday.
The reopening of Route 107 marked the final highway project completed by Vermont in the wake of the late August storm that destroyed more than 500 miles of roads and 200 bridges and left many cut off from the outside world for days.
Sections of the highway run parallel with the White River as it runs through the Green Mountains. The storm dumped record volumes of water into the river where it tore riverbanks to pieces, according to a report in the Washington Post.
“All of a sudden the road ended and then we were looking at river and mud and what used to be huge sheets of asphalt that had shifted into the river,” said Maine Army National Guard Capt. Norman Stickney. “It was like something fell from the sky and completely crushed all of the asphalt and scooped it away and dumped it into the river.”
About 4,000 ft. of Route 107 was completely gone, according to Vermont Transportation Agency Engineer Eric Foster, who oversaw the rebuilding of the highway.
The road work was done in record time with help of the Maine National Guard. A job that would normally take two years was done in 119 days, according to the Post report.
