Vermont commuters hiking to work after Hurricane Irene
Adriene Hill: Thousands of people are still stranded in parts of Vermont because of last week’s flooding. One example: the only road between the city of Rutland and the resort town of Killington has been washed out. Commuters are now using an old hiking trail.
From Vermont Public Radio, Nina Keck has the story.
Nina Keck: Commuters with mud boots and travel mugs trudge across a half mile trail in Mendon, Vt., just north of the washed out section of Route Four.
Joe Bowen: We’re working in Pittsfield, trying to get the roads back up in shape.
Joe Bowen lives in White Hall, N.Y. and is heading to his job in a small town near Killington.
Bowen: A lot of people, whether they work in Killington or other surrounding areas, they hike back and forth. The first day, there was a lot of people with suitcases and everything else tracking out here.
It’s an easy hike, but neighbors on either side of the trail haven’t been too keen on all the parked cars clustered around the trail heads. So many residents are offering carpools to commuters like Bowen. Logistics can be tricky.
Bowen: The only thing is, you have to somebody pick you up on one end, and you gotta park where you did on the other end.
[phone rings] Probably my ride — Hello! That’s journey’s end, right where she gets to the road closed sign, take a right.
The makeshift transportation system seems to be working out so far. That’s good, since road repairs may take a while.
In Mendon, Vt., I’m Nina Keck for Marketplace.
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