Flood mitigation project poorly designed, unneeded

Dear Editor: Every time I pass the Route 209 bridge project in Accord, I shake my head in amazement. It is a huge undertaking whose scope and sequence has had unmeasured environmental, political and economic consequence.

The road project is a huge undertaking that is analogous to using dynamite to take out a nest of yellow jackets

Was there no better alternative than the construction project mess that the public will have endured for a year and a half?

As a 50-year town resident, I have experienced first hand the Rochester Creek when it rarely floods over Route 209. When that happens, traffic is diverted through Mettacahonts Road. (If this has happened more than eight times in the last 50 years, I would be very surprised.)

The road closure usually would last for 10 hours or less, and then, as the waters abated, Route 209 would be reopened.

When the creek flooded and crossed the road, several homes and trailers on the west side of the road would occasionally be flooded.

To address these issues, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers many years ago brought in heavy equipment and went about clearing debris dams and straightening the creek channel. No big deal. The Corps made moderate improvements, which, for the most part, mitigated the flooding problem.

Now we have our current solution to roadway flooding. (The current bridge is still structurally sound.) Design a massive project. Set up a project site with temporary buildings over what had been a corn field. Bring in a huge New Jersey firm to do the design, engineering and construction. Spend a year and a half to complete the job. Invest millions and millions to address a condition that could have been much more intelligently resolved with significantly less environmental impact. And , now those homes that in the past had been flooded may well still be subject to flooding. Why? Because the new roadway is not sufficiently extensive to stop flooding on the southwest side. They will still flood.

It seems to me that this project, given its environmental and economic impact, could have been much better planned, designed and implemented. And, it was simply not necessary. Bob Keagle Town of Rochester, N.Y.

Was there no better alternative than the construction project mess that the public will have endured for a year and a half?