Wall damaged by Roaring Branch must be repaired

BENNINGTON - A retaining wall along the Roaring Branch river was damaged last year during Tropical Storm Irene and must be repaired, according to a town official.

Daniel Monks, the town's development director and zoning administrator, said the "flood wall" near the intersection of County and North Branch streets was compromised by the raging water caused by the storm's heavy rains.

"That flood wall, during the Irene event had two big sink holes," he said.

The power of the river apparently eroded land beneath the wall, causing the sink holes to develop. Town highway crews worked quickly during the storm to fill them to ensure the integrity of the wall. Subsequent inspections by the town's engineer, Roy Schiff, have led town officials to seek a permanent repair to shore up the wall, Monks said.

"He looked at it with some structural engineers from his firm, and without digging huge holes or doing too much exploration, they felt pretty confident that there was some undermining of the structure, just given the way that the sink holes formed. They developed a recommended plan for repair where you would drill holes into the base of the retaining wall and pump concrete into it. Basically, it would fill the void underneath it," Monks said.

The repair project is estimated at about $30,000, according to Monks. It does not need to be completed immediately, though, he said.

"They also said, 'Hey, that's not going to fall over tomorrow. If you have another

The town has been moving forward with planning a repair next spring. In the meantime, they have sought assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which constructed the wall. Monk said the corps is likely to repair and pay for the fix. Engineers with the corps are planning a site visit next week, he said.

"We have written indication that they plan to and hope to," he said. "It may not be the exact thing, but it would be similar (to the town's plan.)" Monks said the town has been informed that a repair project Monk said the corps is likely to repair and pay for the fix. Engineers with the corps are planning a site visit next week, he said.

could be completed before winter. "I do have hope and relative confidence that they're going to perform the repair," he said.

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Wall damaged by Roaring Branch must be repaired