With the dramatic change in temperatures from single digits on Thursday to the 50’s on Saturday, many back roads are in poor condition. The less these roads are driven on the better. We are posting all gravel roads with a weight limit of 15,000 pounds for a 2 axle truck.

Mud season as we are experiencing now is mostly caused by the following:

The cold winter has frozen the ground below the roads several feet deep. Possibly as much as 4 feet below the road surface. The sudden warm up thaws the road surface. The ground below the thawed surface remains frozen and traps the water from flowing out of the road surface. The result is a very wet and muddy road.

Last year with a slow gradual thaw we experienced almost no mud season.

Much of what is happening on the gravel roads is also occurring beneath the surface of the paved roads. The cause of the quick deterioration of many roads through out the north country.

The key to preventing or lessening mud season are deep side ditches that allow water to run sideways out of the road base when water can not drain down into the soil. Our graders are going to some of the roads today and smooth out the ruts as best they can. We may haul stone to a few of the worst spots if they are not passible after the graders have been thru.

Car coming down Sunset Lake Road

Meadowbrook Road

Brattleboro Public Works