by David Flint
Round Mountain Road in Stephentown shows the results of extensive corrective roadwork completed recently by the the Stephentown Highway Department in cooperation with the Rensselaer County Highway Department.
When heavy rains in May washed out a portion of the road, Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt reported that it appeared that the road was in danger of sliding over the bank into a deep ravine. Town Highway Superintendent Aldy Goodermote put down traprock to stop the slide. Following that he said that over the last few months they took out hedgerows along the west side of the road, cut back and reseeded the bank on that side to improve runoff and drainage, widened the road, laid down fabric and regravelled the surface.
Goodermote had met with with an engineer from Clough Harbour in May who estimated a price of twenty to thirty thousand dollars to reconstruct the road and stabilize the hill. Goodermote opted for a quicker fix that he and the County Highway Department were able to accomplish and that he believes will keep things under control. If that proves not to be the case the Clough Harbour solution may have to be considered in the future.
Goodermote said a lot of credit goes to County Superintendent of Highways Scott Gallerie and Donald Hoffman, Division Supervisor for the Berlin area, for their invaluable help in this project. He also expressed appreciation for his co-workers Doug Griswold, Billy DeGroff and Jim Hoffman, and to the landowner, Al Gordon, who he said was most cooperative in allowing the roadwork to go forward.