Hurricane Irene hits Ripton, one year later

Hurricane Irene struck Vermont one year ago this month.  Check out what we blogged back then.

Sand Hill bridge set for spring 2014

Replacing the Sand Hill bridge (East Middlebury) is now scheduled for spring 2014.  This has implications for Ripton, as route 125 runs through the bridge.

For example, here's the latest on how the bridge construction will be handled:

Drivers can expect Route 125 to be closed for 40 days, noted VTrans Project Manager Jennifer Fitch, though the contractor will have a financial incentive to finish more quickly. Travelers will have to resort to some detours. Out-of-town traffic, including trucks, will need to take Route 7 south into Brandon to pick up Route 73 to get over to Route 100, adding about 18 miles to the driver’s trip.

For area residents and emergency vehicles, the detour will mean using Upper Plains Road and Beaver Pond Road in Salisbury to get from Route 7 to Ripton.

“We will only sign regional detours,” Fitch said. “The town can choose to sign the local detour.”

What do you think?

REAP in the news

The Addison Independent updates readers on our Ripton Energy Assistance Program (REAP).
One key news item:

Once cut and split, the wood at this point is taken by truck to a field owned by one of the steering committee members. Around a dozen cords are kept there at any one time. But that will change soon, thanks to $1,000 in local donations and a $2,500 grant received from the Middlebury-based Vermont Community Foundation. Those combined funds — with another few thousand dollars left to raise — will be used to construct a wood shed that will soon be built on municipal land behind the Ripton firehouse. The new structure will be stick-built using volunteer labor and will be approximately 16 feet by 24 feet, according to King.