WE ARE HOMETOWN NEWS.

Storm damage on Maynard Hill Road, Chester.
Reminder Publishing submitted photos

CHESTER — Chester Highway Superintendent Charles “Chip” Dazelle said Chester had 5 inches of rain in two hours on Monday, July 14, closing roads overnight, and causing an estimated $150,000 in damages.

“We lost Cooper Drive, Sossilo off of Prospect, a section of Maynard Hill Road and Crane,” Dazelle said, as well as extensive damage on Prospect Street in downtown Chester.

He said his three-man crew had to go out and close off the roads overnight, and he contacted the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency about the storm damage.

The next morning, the crew went out at 5 a.m. to assess the damage. Dazelle called in two construction crews for assistance, Double M & T Excavation in Westfield, and White Wolf out of Washington. He said in some areas there was 15 inches of gravel on the roads.

“There was a 4-foot crater on Maynard Hill Road — a whole section was gone,” he said.

MEMA also arrived the following morning on July 15. Dazelle said he doesn’t believe there was enough damage to meet the threshold for emergency assistance. He said Town Administrator Don Humason reached out to state Sen. Paul Mark (D-Becket) for help, and the Department of Environmental Protection also came to town to meet with the Conservation Commission.

On July 17, Dazelle said that all the roads were open, which the crew made as a priority to get every road passable. That goal was more difficult after a tree came down on Maynard Hill Road on July 16, cutting power to some residents. However, he said Eversource responded, cut the tree up and restored power.

He said the crew was still out locating and opening the culverts, in anticipation of another potential rain event. “Nobody got hurt. No emergency response by the police, fire or medical was hampered by the damage,” Dazelle said. “We’ve still got two to three weeks of work.”

cmaza@thereminder.com |  + posts