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fatlazyless · 09-02-2011, 06:03 AM

http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...NEWS/709029999

From today's Sept 2 Union Leader: "Report: NH's rural roads are suffering"

If you want to see a road that's suffering, go take a drive up to Waterville Valley, Rt 93-Exit 28 and north onto Route 49, which is the only road in there now that the Forest Service's Tripoli Rd, a ten mile dirt road accessed from Rt 93-Exit 31, has been closed due to the recent flood damage. Tropical Storm Irene caused the Mad River to change course in five locations and eroded away at the road in five locations. It looks to me like the road will have to be moved in two spots because what had been a road is now a newly re-located river; in Campton and at the WV s-curve. At the s-curve, how does a road get moved when the only place to move it is a very tall, and very steep and large hill that's probably made of solid granite.

http://www.visitwatervillevalley.com/map/index.htm

Repairing that s-curve looks to be a very challenging repair. How will it get fixed.....a good question? There is not enough land left between a big steep hill and the river anymore....all the land disappeared into the river....and what's left is a 50' high bluff overlooking the water which swirls below and is probably undercutting the vertical river embankment.

Right now, there's a one lane construction style, traffic light with about a 5-minute wait to drive the one lane-200 yards that's open at the s-curve.

Fixing the Rt 49-WV-s-curve looks like it could well become a job for SUPERMAN! Attention Superman.......you are needed here....to remove a large granite hillside, or to fill in the river, or something!

And, all the land abutting the Mad River, as well as the river itself, belongs to the US Dept of Agriculture-White Mountain National Forest while Rt 49 is property of the State of New Hampshire.
............

Well.......it looks like Superman showed up today: Friday, Sept 2......Audley Construction.....(no website).....has two huge Caterpillar excavators down in the river bed, moving huge boulders around to probably move the water flow away from the s-curve, and back to its old flow location from before Irene. The excavators are cutting a new river channel all through the huge 6' diameter granite boulders which should send the river back to its old location....looks like the plan!

So's.....most likely....the plan will be to move the river flow and restore the embankment so it will support the s-curve with no changes to the roadway.....it will be just like what it was before.....except that now the s-curve will be directly high above the river.....on the water.....as opposed to having trees and land separating the s-curve from the river.......capiche!

This could be the start of a terrific new NH roadway item.....maybe even iconic....a new and improved New Hampshire watery roadside driving location: the "WATERVILLE VALLEY, ROUTE 49, S-CURVE", directly high above the Mad River, as it flows past, about 50-feet below, nestled high up along a climbing hillside ridge, with all the beauteous mountains in the background!

Does anybody else hear new tourist-visiter money driving this Route 49 way, thanks to what Tropical Storm Irene did to the Mad River, or am I just being an optimistic fool?

09-02-2011, 06:03 AM	#3
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,525 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 295 Thanked 957 Times in 698 Posts	http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...NEWS/709029999 From today's Sept 2 Union Leader: "Report: NH's rural roads are suffering" If you want to see a road that's suffering, go take a drive up to Waterville Valley, Rt 93-Exit 28 and north onto Route 49, which is the only road in there now that the Forest Service's Tripoli Rd, a ten mile dirt road accessed from Rt 93-Exit 31, has been closed due to the recent flood damage. Tropical Storm Irene caused the Mad River to change course in five locations and eroded away at the road in five locations. It looks to me like the road will have to be moved in two spots because what had been a road is now a newly re-located river; in Campton and at the WV s-curve. At the s-curve, how does a road get moved when the only place to move it is a very tall, and very steep and large hill that's probably made of solid granite. http://www.visitwatervillevalley.com/map/index.htm Repairing that s-curve looks to be a very challenging repair. How will it get fixed.....a good question? There is not enough land left between a big steep hill and the river anymore....all the land disappeared into the river....and what's left is a 50' high bluff overlooking the water which swirls below and is probably undercutting the vertical river embankment. Right now, there's a one lane construction style, traffic light with about a 5-minute wait to drive the one lane-200 yards that's open at the s-curve. Fixing the Rt 49-WV-s-curve looks like it could well become a job for SUPERMAN! Attention Superman.......you are needed here....to remove a large granite hillside, or to fill in the river, or something! And, all the land abutting the Mad River, as well as the river itself, belongs to the US Dept of Agriculture-White Mountain National Forest while Rt 49 is property of the State of New Hampshire. ............ Well.......it looks like Superman showed up today: Friday, Sept 2......Audley Construction.....(no website).....has two huge Caterpillar excavators down in the river bed, moving huge boulders around to probably move the water flow away from the s-curve, and back to its old flow location from before Irene. The excavators are cutting a new river channel all through the huge 6' diameter granite boulders which should send the river back to its old location....looks like the plan! So's.....most likely....the plan will be to move the river flow and restore the embankment so it will support the s-curve with no changes to the roadway.....it will be just like what it was before.....except that now the s-curve will be directly high above the river.....on the water.....as opposed to having trees and land separating the s-curve from the river.......capiche! This could be the start of a terrific new NH roadway item.....maybe even iconic....a new and improved New Hampshire watery roadside driving location: the "WATERVILLE VALLEY, ROUTE 49, S-CURVE", directly high above the Mad River, as it flows past, about 50-feet below, nestled high up along a climbing hillside ridge, with all the beauteous mountains in the background! Does anybody else hear new tourist-visiter money driving this Route 49 way, thanks to what Tropical Storm Irene did to the Mad River, or am I just being an optimistic fool? __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 09-02-2011 at 11:04 AM.