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Updated: Fast-moving thunderstorm brings heavy rain, damages roads

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Emergency crews respond to a road wash out at the intersection of Weeks Mills Road and Route 43 in Farmington Tuesday. Route 43/Industry Road is closed to traffic from the Middle Street intersection to Mosher Hill Road intersection.
Emergency crews respond to a road washout at the intersection of Weeks Mills Road and Route 43 in Farmington Tuesday evening. Route 43/Industry Road is closed to traffic from the Middle Street intersection to the Mosher Hill Road intersection.  The state’s Department of Transportation was on their way to the wash out.

Updated: Wednesday, July 16: According to the county’s emergency management agency, the roads closed Tuesday evening because of the heavy downpour have been repaired and reopened. Some long-term repairs may be needed in some areas damaged by the deluge.

FARMINGTON – A few roads remain closed to traffic after a couple of inches of rain fell within an hour during a thunderstorm Tuesday evening.

The National Weather Service issued a series of flood watches and tornado warnings across the region beginning at 5:30 p.m. Periods of heavy rain lasting for nearly an hour quickly overtook low-lying roads as water left river banks, causing flash flood conditions.

A river of muddy water cascaded down Weeks Mills Road, spilling onto Industry Road (Route 43) and leaving rocks and debris along the way. The road remains closed at this hour from Middle Street intersection to Mosher Hill Road.

Nearby residents stood and watched as water ran across roads, causing several inches of water to stand in their dooryards. Resident Fred Barton said flooding in the area is not uncommon but noted he hadn’t seen this much water since the big flood of 1987.

Further west on Industry Road, near the Skunk Hollow intersection, Scott Hayden paddled around his front yard in a kayak as his family watched from the mobile home’s front porch.

Other roads closed after the rainstorm are Clover Mill Road off Temple Road and reportedly Michell Brook Road in Temple was also flooded. More rain is expected on Wednesday.

A car plows through a pool of water outside of Gifford's on Intervale Road.
A car plows through a pool of water outside of Gifford’s on Main Street in Farmington.
A resident attempt to back out of a driveway but is blocked by flooding after a fast-moving thunderstorm dumped a couple of inches of rain within an hour Tuesday evening.
A resident attempts to back out of a driveway but is blocked by water washing down the road  after a fast-moving thunderstorm dumped a couple of inches of rain within an hour Tuesday evening.
Water rushes down Weeks Mills Road in Farmington, cutting away at the road's surface during Tuesday's thunderstorm.
Water rushes down Weeks Mills Road in Farmington, cutting away at the road’s surface during Tuesday’s thunderstorm.
The short stop sign at Skunk Hollow sticks out of the low flooded intersection of Industry Road Tuesday evening.
The short stop sign at Skunk Hollow sticks out of the water at the flooded intersection of Industry Road Tuesday evening.
Scott Hayden paddles around his front lawn off Route 43 in Farmington after the road was flooded near Skunk Hollow Road.
As his family looks on, Scott Hayden paddles around his front lawn off Route 43 in Farmington after the road was flooded near Skunk Hollow Road.
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11 Comments

  2. Thanks to the Road Crews, and Emergency Crews that were out all night. Franklin Dispatch did a great job controlling the chaos.

  3. Looks like our road did during the last big storm last week! Please drive safely over these roads, because they are still unsteady underneath until the DOT can restore them correctly. Bless their hearts, they have been working so hard to make the roads safe and passable..

  4. what an amazing storm…looks like our job will be rather challenging this week.

  6. Hope my favorite folks up that way are all safe or have a kayak. You can borrow one from me for the summer!

  7. Every heavy rain brings something new to skunk hollow and in the 20 years I lived there I have never seen the damage so extensive. I remember several years in a row my driveway ending up on route 43.

  8. I would love to see them fix this road the way it should be… It hasn’t had any real work done to it in so many yrs… The road is lower than the ditch is… What good is that???? I have lived on this road all my life and it is one of the less maintained roads that I know of….

  9. I agree with Kendra. Certain roads need more attention and not just maintainence but from the early stages of construction and a stabler infrastructure.

  10. A BIG thank you to the road crew for filing in the end of my driveway today that was washed away during the storm!

  11. Now lets review what is going on in Washington regarding the Highway Trust Fund. Seems like the current House of Reps. does not want to fund it in a realistic way. Fiddling with future pensions to create supposed taxable income now, that may or may not be paid up later, is a bad way to do things. In addition, the money the House of Reps expects to raise this way will only fund the Highway Trust Fund for about 10 months. I’m pretty sure Skunk Hollow is not on any list of roads to be rebuilt in the next few months. Make sure you tell who ever wants to take Rep Michaud’s seat that very high on the list of important things is how they will vote to raise money for the Highway Trust Fund. Small towns all across the country are facing this same thing. Do not let the politicians keep kicking the Highway can further into the future while the corporations develop new and better ways to move their headquarters to foreign countries and the affluent figure out smarter ways to not pay taxes on their enormous incomes. You and I get the shaft while the wealthy take another chapter in their permanent vacations.
    Lauri Sibulkin

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