Northern Tier Section 11 - 2011

[FredHiltz]

See roads closed by flood damage from Irene, detailed in http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.php?topic=9714.0

Fred

[JHamelman]

Another source for information on the impact of Irene on the Northern Tier:

http://www.centralhudson.com/hurricaneirene.html

.Jennifer.

[BobG]

The Kancamagus Highway (NH Route 112) from Lincoln to Conway is closed due to flood damage. This includes the Passaconway Road that parallels 112 from the Covered Bridge Campground into Conway. They hope to have the Kancamagus repaired before the Fall foliage season.

[BobG]

For the benefit of those currently headed towards NH on the Northern Tier, here's the latest update on the Kancamagus highway closure that was printed in today's (9/1/2011) Conway Daily Sun newspaper:

CONWAY — The state said on Wednesday it had a plan to get the Kancamagus Highway open by mid-September in advance of the fall foliage season.

“The governor has made opening the Kanc a priority,” Department of Resources and Economic Development Commissioner George Bald said. The target date is Sept. 15, he said, “which is a lot sooner than we anticipated.”

[pfines]

If a rider plans to continue on the Northern Tier (missing as little as possible), there are two ways around the closure of the Kanc - neither are short!  Currently Crawfords notch is also closed. 

First alternative is to go "up and over".  This invloves climbing two significant notches.  From Lincoln, go up the bike path (check this) through Franconia Notch, across Rt 3 to Twin Mountain, up Rt 116 to Jefferson, across Rt. 2 to Gorham and up and down Pinkham Notch to Conway.  When Crawfords opens, at Twin Monutain, go south on Rt 302 to Conway.

Second (shorter) alternative is to go south on Rt 175 to Holderness (Squam Lake), then Rt 113 through Chocoura to Conway.

[JHamelman]

More information on road closures in Vermont on NT. We recieved this information from a member in Sharon, VT:

Most of SR 107 has been destroyed. SR 100 is also impassable. The towns of Rochester and Stockbridge are isolated, as most roads and bridges leading in and out of them are gone. In Royalton, the bridges have washed out. River Road between South Royalton and Sharon looks like a war zone, with houses destroyed, fields buried under mud and RV's wrapped around trees. Route 132 has been repaired in some places but not all of it is back to normal. Anyone trying to find alternate routes would have a difficult time, as the alternate routes are also frequently not passable. Due to the seriousness of some of the bridge washouts, some modifications of the route may still be necessary even into next year's cycling season. Conditions in all parts of the state are not good, especially in the southern and central sections.

.Jennifer.

[BobG]

The Kancamagus Highway (Route 112) in NH reopened yesterday, 9/11/2011.

[FredHiltz]

This tiny state has--with a lot of help--recovered surprisingly quickly from the Irene flood damage. As the cycling season winds down, a few of us will be finishing the Northern Tier or touring for the foliage on the NT and the Green Mountains Loop.

Some interesting numbers compiled by the Burlington Free Press and printed today:

State roads closed post-storm: 146, 140 reopened. ("Open" means passable, often unpaved, no signs, and no striping.)

State road miles closed: 532, 519 reopened.

State bridges closed: 34, 23 reopened.

State transportation workers assigned to storm respones: 700. Outside help: 349 from Maine Department of Transportation; 20 from New Hampshire Department of Transportation; 667 from six states’ National Guard units, 1,860 from 185 private contractors.

Local road segments damaged: 2,260, 175 still closed.

Local bridges damaged: 289, 90 still closed.

Northern Tier closure remaining:

SR 107 between Stockbridge and Bethel, expected to be open by Thanksgiving. NT uses the nearby parallel local Blackmer Rd, whose condition is unknown. You have two options: 1) Call the Stockton town clerk at 802-234-9371 when you are a day or two away, or 2) ride Camp Brook Rd and SR 12 between Rochester and Bethel, which are the roads used by the Green Mountains Loop.

Green Mountains Loop: All state roads open.

http://www.511vt.com/ is the best source of current closures affectin state roads. It is not complete for town roads, but state road detours are never far away.

Fred

[JHamelman]

I received confirmation that SR 107 between Bethel and Stockbridge reopened a few weeks ago. As far as I can tell from http://511.vermont.gov/ all roads once closed due to Irene are now open. Any confirmation or dispute?

.Jennifer.