July 10, 2024 Storm and Piney Woods Road
In the 2019 Halloween storm, Piney Woods Road was severely damaged. FEMA funds helped return the road to the way it was.
In 2023 Piney Woods Road was damaged during a December storm with repairs costing $10,000-15,000.
In 2024 Piney Woods Road was severely damaged by a July 10 storm and the road has been closed since. A 5’ culvert was washed down the road 75’. The damage to the road is severe.
Several other roads in Monkton were damaged by the July 10, 2024 storm, and the town spent $140,000 making repairs. Piney Woods Road was not repaired due to the significant damage.
The Town began meeting with FEMA weekly in September of 2024. There is an extensive process to receiving FEMA money. Projects are precisely defined including measurements of ditches, cubic yards of gravel, hours of labor, and GPS coordinates. Projects are relegated to multiple queues depending on their status: mitigation, Consolidated Resource Center (CRC), and obligation. Once items are obligated, they go to the Vermont Department of Public Safety finance. They create an agreement for towns to sign in 3-8 weeks. Monkton will not receive any funds until that agreement is signed. The Town continues to meet with FEMA weekly. We have just received our first agreement to sign, for three of the six projects.
Piney Woods Road is one of several roads being considered for FEMA funds. Jockey Lane, Old Stage Road, Davis Road, Higbee Road, Boro Hill Road, Mountain Road, and Tyler Bridge Road are all projects in the FEMA queues.
With repeated washouts, returning the Piney Woods Road to the way it was may not be the best use of taxpayer dollars.
The road foreman requested a hydrology study by the state to determine a way to build Piney Woods Road back better than it was. Despite multiple follow up calls, the study was delayed by several months. The hydrology study was finally completed in April of 2025. Current estimates to repair Piney Woods Road range from $700,000 to $1,200,000.
FEMA pays for 75% of the project, the state pays for another 12.5%, and the town pays the remaining 12.5%. (FEMA used to pay for 90% of a project.) Repairing Piney Woods would cost the town between $80,000 and $150,000.
Once the project costs are finalized, the Selectboard will discuss the best option moving forward.
The town has received two Federal Highway Emergency Relief Program Grants in the amounts of $5,224 for Monkton Road and $21,334 for Silver Street for repairs from the July 2024 storm. These roads were not eligible for FEMA funds.