Responsibilities

• Build and maintain 70 miles of dirt road and 30 miles of paved road
• Maintain town properties
• Repair and maintenance of all town equipment
• Provide support to: Transfer Station, Cemeteries, Emergency Management, and Water & Sewer Department

    

Annual Operations Winter Road plowing, sanding, salting, and drainage work Plowing of parking lots and sidewalks Repair of storm damage to trees and roads Care of Paved Roads Patching of paved roads Regrinding and repaving of all paved roads Stripping of paved roads Care of Dirt Roads Ditching, culvert cleaning and replacement, road-side tree cutting Grading and raking of gravel roads Maintaining Road Materials Crushing stone and concrete for road material Screening sand for winter sand

2012 Projects

The Highway Department will be working on moving the monument this spring and taking out the short cut between the monument and common. It's hoped to be complete by Memorial Day.

The Back Bay culvert will be rebuilt this year and the Highway Department will start working on rebuilding sections of dirt roads this summer.

2011 Projects:

• Roberts Road Repaving
  



• Relocation of Canaan Street and Roberts Intersection



• Repair of Damage Caused by Hurricane Irene



• Back Bay Bridge
  



• Jerusalem Road: Reconstruction of Gravel Base Material Pilot Project



• Ibey Road: Widening and clearing



• Rapid Infiltration Beds at Sewer Plant
  



• Rebuilding of Transfer Station
  

Future Road Reconstruction and Paving

Paved Roads

• Talberts Hill Road
• Codfish Hill Rebuild & Drain
• Turnpike Road
• Worst sections of Goose Pond
• Jerusalem Road

Gravel Roads

• Fernwood Farms
• Turnpike Road
• West Farms Road
• Jerusalem Road
• Clark Hill Road
• Prospect Hill Road

2008-2010 Road Reconstruction

Paving

• 2008: 1.8 Miles
• 2009: 2 Miles
• 2010: 1.8 Miles

Paved Road Reconstruction

• Apple Blossom: 1/2 Mile
• Grafton Turnpike: 1 Mile

Gravel Road Reconstruction

• Ibey Road
• South Road
• Jerusalem Road
• Fernwood Farms Road

The voters authorized a new department head in the 2000 Town Meeting that was call "Town Wide Mechanic". The scope of this position was to service all Town owned mobile equipment and report to the Board of Selectmen.

Today, Larry Brabant serves as the Town's Mechanic. As part of his responsibilities, he repairs and services all fire, police, highway, cemetery, grounds and transfer station equipment. While the scope of his work is broad, he is able to complete these tasks for less than $125,000 annually. As we develop a capital replacement program that requires us to hold major equipment for longer periods, his role is increasingly important.

The following are pictures of the new Dodge 1 ton truck acquired from the CIP Capital Reserves in 2011. There are several new features on this truck:

• The front snow plow has a quick disconnect the lifts and attaches the plow for winter use.
• The wing plow that attaches on the passenger side of the truck has a quick disconnect that lifts the wing plow and attaches it to the side of the truck.
• The dump box sides fold down if needed to use the dump body as a platform for tanks or to carry oversize loads.
• All hydraulic controls including the attaching of plows are located in the cab.

 

Equipment & Use	Year Acquired
Freight 6 Wheel Dump, Sander & Plow	2001
Chevy Blazer Utility, Plowing, Raking	1986
Komatsu Loader	2001
Dodge 5500 1 Ton Dump, Sander & Plow	2011
JCB 217 Backhoe	2004
Volvo Grader	2004
GMC 1 Ton Dump, Sander & Plow	2005
International 6 Wheel Dump, Sander & Plow	2005
Sterling 6 Wheel Dump, Sander & Plow	2005
GMC 3500 1 Ton Pick-up, Plow	2006
International 10 Wheel Dump, Sander & Plow	2006
International 6 Wheel Dump, Sander & Plow	2007
20 Ton Equipment Trailer	1989
6 Ton Equipment Trailer	1989
Compressor	1994
Vibratory Screen for gravel	1998
Vehicle Washer	2005
Tow York Rake to Rake Gravel Roads	2003
Tow York Rake to Rake Gravel Roads	2004
Tow York Rake to Rake Gravel Roads	2007
Front Mount York Rake to Rake Gravel Roads	2008
Brush Chipper for Tree Removal	2005
Asphalt Hot Box to Melt Asphalt for Patching	2005
Service Truck (old ambulance) for Truck Road Service	1995
Ford Tractor with Loader for Sweeping (Govt. Property)	2005
Welder for Repairs
Plasma Cutter for Repairs
Truck Lift for Repairs

 

Hurricane Irene
More than 5 inches of rain feel in under 10 hours on Sunday, August 28th as Irene swamped the Northeast. Most of our streams flooded over their banks and washed out road shoulders, roadways and culverts. Innumerable roads were closed in Canaan with a few remaining closed for up to two weeks. More than 40 people, including Firefighters, Police Officers, Highway crew and civilian volunteers, served as traffic control, filled and placed sand bags, pumped cellars, set up generators, saved a dam, rescued propane tanks, removed debris, set up barricades, rescued stranded people, towed flooded vehicles, manned shelters, responded to downed power lines and notified people of impeding danger. Their efforts were astounding. Less than twenty hours of paid employee overtime was recorded. Preparations were completed more than 48 hours prior to the storm and we all survived fairly well. There was significant damage to town highways that has been mostly repaired with 75% of the cost borne by FEMA.
Transfer Station
The Transfer Station Road received heavy damage as Orange Brook overflowed at a sharp bend up-stream from the transfer station bridge. The flooding undermined long sections of the road, took out sections of the chain link fence, destroyed paving and plugged the bridge openings with debris that had to be removed. The road was still underwater 24 hours after the flooding started. Total damage expense was about $24,000 plus town labor.
Lashua Road
A bridge over Mascoma River that services Lashua Road (off River Road) was moved partially off of the abutments and the decking was damaged by Irene. The bridge was impassable for several weeks and was eventually reset and the decking was replaced. The cost was $10,800.
Cider Mill Road
Cider Mill Road had extensive damage from washouts along the road and cross road washouts. The road remained closed for nearly 48 hours. New culverts and many loads of gravel and stone were needed to reopen the road. Damage totaled $16,200 plus town labor.
Jerusalem Road
There were several washouts at the North end of Jerusalem Road that made passage difficult as well as many areas where shoulders were washed away. The major problem was the washout at the intersection of Jerusalem Road and Springs Road. A tributary that feeds into Indian River became a raging torrent that took out a major culvert under Jerusalem Road making it impassable from South to North. The total cost for materials and equipment for this repair was $12,400.
Potato Road
Potato Road had damage both north of South Road and south of South Road. The road was under water most of the way between US Route 4 and the hill that climbs up to South Road. Water flooded all along the plain that is north of the bridge. The hill that climbs up towards South Road washed out due to the heavy waters flowing down the ditches. One culvert plugged entirely and had to be removed. Extensive rebuilding work occurred along the east side of the road. South of South Road there were also washouts and another culverts had to be replaced. The total cost of equipment time and materials for Potato Road was $7,500.
About Town
Other roads damaged included Prospect, North Lary, Choate, West Farms, Ibey, Ball Park, Depot, May, Sugar Hill, Maple, and Abbott Roads. The total cost of labor, equipment and materials was $97,500.