Ripton versus climate change

The National Climate Assessment has appeared, and it has challenging news for Ripton.  Climate change is going to hit us hard, and is already hitting us.

According to the Addison Independent's summary, climate change impacts appear in a variety of ways:

The Northeast will be plagued by heat waves, heavy downpours and sea level rise. 

The changing climate will greatly affect the maple syrup, timber and seafood industries. 

States with aging infrastructures, like Vermont, will be further damaged by more frequent and more damaging floods 

Boreal forests will recede to higher elevations

Those of us who remember tropical storm Irene will find special meaning in this extra point:

The report also noted that states with populations centered along rivers and in flood plains are particularly vulnerable to increased precipitation.

“In mountainous regions, including much of West Virginia and large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, more intense precipitation events will mean greater flood risk, particularly in valleys, where people, infrastructure, and agriculture tend to be concentrated,” the report states. 

Ripton's own Bill McKibben appears in the article.

“It was one more rock on the pile; there has been a steady stream of giant reports dating back to 1995 and all have said about the same thing,” McKibben said. “This one just adds that climate change is no longer a future threat — since we haven’t done anything about it, it’s now a very real part of our life.”

Paving under way

The Sand Hill bridge and its approaches have been paved.

Note the solid concrete railings on either side.

Bridge paving

Construction crews are paving the new Sand Hill bridge this morning.
That seems to be a repaving, since one worker told me they paved yesterday as well.

No photos this time, as a swarm of trucks completely blocked my way in.

Health screen at a June recycling event

Here's a useful service next month:

The Open Door Clinic of Middlebury will be holding a free health screening event on Saturday, 21 June 2014 from 9 to noon at the town shed in conjunction with the regular recycling drop-off.

(thanks to Warren and Barry King)

More work on the bridge

More images from the Sand Hill project.  These were taken on May 16th.

First, filling in the lower ramp:

Note the elevation from the road just in front of the camera up to the bridge itself.  And compare with this image from a few days before.

Second, here comes a giant slab of concrete.  It was destined to be part of that ramp now being filled in.

The next week in bridge reconstruction

Here's the latest on the Sand Hill bridge:

Route 125
Project related truck activity will be heavy during day time hours, and limited during the night.

North Branch Road
Traffic on North Branch Road will remain open for one lane of traffic for the duration of the project. Unlimited access will be provided to Emergency Services as needed.
Middlebury River
Please be advised that VTrans is warning all recreational users of the Middlebury River to avoid the immediate vicinity of the bridge until further notice.

Schedule:
Friday (5/23):  Fine grading and paving operations on RT 125 and North Branch Road.  Expect minor delays.
Saturday (5/24) – Monday (5/26): There will be limited work activity on the bridge during the holiday weekend. Truck traffic will cease. Concrete sidewalks will be curing during this time.
Tuesday (5/27): The work platform under the bridge will be removed.
Thursday (5/29):  Decorative precast panels will be placed. 

 (thanks to Sally Hoyler)
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The past week at Sand Hill

The bridge continues to grow before our eyes.  Over the past week we've seen the bridge connected to the road.

For instance, approaching Sand Hill from East Middlebury, we saw the road gently rise to the bridge's new elevation:

Click to enlarge.

The ramp needed to be built up gradually, and graded:

Seen from just up North Branch, the bridge now looks flat along the top:

What have you observed during the past week of bridge construction?