Storm damage took minutes, but repairs will take longer

You’ve seen the pictures:  washed out rail tracks, crumbled roadways, debris and flood damage everywhere.  The 1,000-year storm that hit the Naugatuck Valley last week caused destruction of biblical proportions.  And the reconstruction will take weeks, possibly months.

First off the Connecticut Department of Transportation must secure the damaged areas, remove the debris and inspect for structural damage. Where appropriate they’ll replace damaged bridges with temporary spans, pulled from an inventory of such bridges stored for such occasions. Some such temporary bridges may be weight restricted.  Meantime, expect delays and slow driving through an obstacle course of cones and repair crews.

Above all, we will need patience.  Though the damage from the storm happened in minutes, it will take awhile to get things back to normal.

The good news (if there is any) is that disaster reconstruction will be mostly paid with federal dollars and can be done faster without environmental studies and competitive bidding.  As one CDOT veteran says, “It’ll be a great time for contractors.”

As we enjoy the last week of summer, don’t let the nice weather fool you.  Storms can happen anytime… and will hit us again. The question is, how to rebuild better, anticipating future deluges.

While existing bridges and culverts were mostly built to handle 50-year storms, there’s no way to rebuild them to handle a 1,000-year storm like we saw last week.  It’s just not practical or affordable… even though such storms are certainly happening more frequently.

You can follow this rebuilding progress and its potential delays.  Best resource is CDOT’s website CTRoads.com , useful even in good weather to anticipate traffic and delays.

Doubtless the CDOT’s website will monitor progress in the rebuild as that agency has done a much better job in recent years at improving the transparency of their operation.   Kudos to CDOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto and his crews for their efforts so far and their frequent updates.

But when bad weather returns… and it will… where will you turn for advisories?  How will you know if its safe to drive, and where?

Sure there are websites and social media, but nothing beats local radio… the folks who know your community best.  But will they be there to help?  Do your even know your local station’s frequency? And do they even have a working news department?

The demise this week of all-news juggernaut WCBS 880 in New York City is indicative of a dangerous trend. While some of my old radio friends, like Connecticut residents Paul Murnane and Joe Connolly, have lost their jobs, we have lost an incredible information resource.

In its almost 57 years of all-news coverage, WCBS got us through 9/11, Sandy, and countless blizzards.  Theirs was a dependable, go-to resource available 24×7 in our cars and homes (even without electricity, if we’d prepared).  They will be missed terribly.

Don’t let what happened to them happen in your community.  Support your local media, print and broadcast.  Listen, subscribe and patronize their advertisers.  Keep them in business so they are there when we need them most.