I am writing in response to a letter posted in the September issue of Norfolk Now, “They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot.”

The writer noted that the town did not warn residents or post flyers indicating that work was going to take place on town roads after the July flooding. Those traveling, or I should say trying to travel, on our dirt roads and several of our paved roads, would have noticed that their travel was hindered by three-foot-deep water channels and many completely washed-out culverts, bridges and sections of roadside drainage. Having just completed a submission to FEMA for funding needed to repair the damage, I can confirm that there were thousands of yards of asphalt millings and three inch minus processed granite applied to our roads. Unfortunately, we did not qualify for FEMA funding, but that is for another article.

The writer comments on how we have ruined our dirt roads. Maintaining 56 miles of roads is not cheap. Our focus is to maintain our roads for safe travel for our residents, emergency responders and the Public Works Department. The road the writer is referring to is Bald Mountain Road. Because of the topography and lack of sunlight, especially in the early hours of the day in winter, Bald Mountain has been susceptible to icing because of poor water drainage. In February of 2018 we had a plow truck slide off the road, demolishing the truck and injuring its driver. So as saddened as I am for the writer to have to live in paradise lost, our focus is to make sure all can travel safely on all our roads.

To address the comment about ripping out some of the most beautiful bridges in the county, what are you talking about? NO bridges were removed on Bald Mountain Road.

As far as the road surfacing we do on our unimproved roads is concerned, again, we work to maintain safe travel for all. We have been surfacing many of our dirt roads with a mixture of ground asphalt millings and granite tailings. This mixture is applied to the road, graded to smooth out the surface and to provide a pitch to the road surface so water will drain off, and then the road is rolled. This provides an exceptionally good surface at a very reasonable price in all seasons. And, for the record, we did not pave Bald Mountain Road. In a previous correspondence to the Selectmen’s Office, the writer stated that we were applying ground limestone to our dirt roads and that he was concerned about its use. He had stated that limestone changes the Ph level of the soil and water courses, which I cannot dispute; but just to clear up this myth, we do not use limestone on any of our roads.

I would suggest the readers take a drive on Bald Mountain Road to see its current condition, but I really do not want to disturb the reader.

Matt Riiska