ATHOL — Eleven people were back home in Morton Meadows housing complex on Monday, two days after being evacuated when a mass of ice broke free along the Millers River and causing flooding concerns when it swept away three steel brackets securing a 10-inch water main underneath the Exchange Street Bridge.
Athol Town Manager Shaun A. Suhoski said 26 residents were evacuated as a precaution Saturday morning, but those living in Buildings 1 and 2 got the green light to return on Monday because the elevation of those buildings is a bit higher than that of the 28-apartment complex’s other three buildings, which sit along the river’s edge.
Evacuated residents were placed with family, friends, in a local nursing home or lodging by The Salvation Army Athol Corps, Athol-Orange Housing Authority and United Way. There remains no reported injuries related to the ice jams. According to information from Suhoski, the 11 residents of the buildings farthest from the river were provided bags so they can have essentials ready to go if conditions change and they must be evacuated again.
Suhoski explained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday planned to increase the release of water from the upstream Tully and Birch Hill dams up to 500 cubic feet per second. This is said to be substantial enough to create a noticeable increase in flow and, potentially, the river’s height. The team planned to monitor the river overnight and meet this morning to determine if it is safe for remaining 15 residents to return to the three riverside buildings at Morton Meadows. According to Suhoski, local officials will continue to monitor the river and coordinate with the Corps in the next few days.
The Exchange Street Bridge remained closed to vehicular traffic on Monday, barricaded on its south side and at the intersection of Exchange Street and Pequoig Avenue on the north side. The bridge was still open to pedestrians. Selectboard Vice Chairman William J. Caldwell said people could use the Chestnut Hill Avenue bridge and Crescent Street to cross the river.
Standing next to the bridge on Monday, Suhoski said the state Department of Transportation must examine any damage to the bridge before it is reopened to vehicles. But getting this done has been challenging since the incident occurred over the weekend and Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Suhoski said ice jams happen from time to time and this one stands out.
“This one’s pretty bad. It rivals the one in 2005, from all the reports I’ve had. But it’s Mother Nature. So we really don’t have tools or a special ice breaker that can go charging down the Millers and, so, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature,” he said. “At the same time, we want to be cognizant of people’s safety.”
The Chuck Stone Little League Field next to the Millers River was flooded when the river overflowed after heavy rain and rapid snow melt. A YouCaring page has been set up to raise $3,000 to aid in the field’s reconstruction. The page can be found at http://bit.ly/2mBEKlz.
Fire Chief John Duguay, who also acts as the town’s emergency management director, previously said the bridge would not be open any sooner than today.
According to the state in 2013, a review of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s database the first recorded ice jam on the Millers River occurred on Jan. 10, 1935, and caused no reported house damage or personal injury. There have been at least 20 more after that.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli