BUCKLAND — Road and culvert repairs are being planned for Avery Road, Elm Street and North Street, with the Selectboard and Finance Committee agreeing Monday to allocate roughly $610,000 toward the work.

Heavy rain in early July prompted the Selectboard to declare a state of emergency for Avery Road, blocking passage between its intersections with Shephard and Charlemont roads. Now, after a month of closure, the town is preparing to start repairs.

“These have been an expensive couple of months for the town,” said Selectboard Chair Clint Phillips.

Town Administrator Heather Butler said that since the board declared a state of emergency, the town can tap into some emergency resources, such as $350,000 left over from paving on Depot Street and at the freight yard.

“The state has said we can use that money for Avery Road’s urgent needs,” she said.

Using the funds comes with a few challenges, however. Butler explained the town cannot use the $350,000 to address non-emergency needs, and whatever project the money is allocated toward cannot receive additional funding from other sources. Therefore, if $350,000 is not enough to repair the culverts, repave the road and change the slope to prevent future washouts, the emergency funding cannot be used for that purpose.

Butler suggested that the town split the Avery Road work into two projects, with Phase 1 being emergency repairs and Phase 2 being stabilization. That way, the $350,000 could be put toward the emergency repairs and then the town could consider potential funding options for long-term stabilization. This would make the road passable and then allow the focus to shift to preventing further closures.

However, board members agreed that if money is going to be spent, it should be spent in a way that prevents them from needing to come back and repair the road after each storm. They also suggested a retaining wall be installed.

“If we don’t do it right, we’ll be talking about this again next year,” said Finance Committee Chair Larry Longford.

What will fixing Avery Road, with stabilization, cost? The town is not yet sure.

Anthony Gutierrez, of Buckland’s Highway Department, told the boards that he received quotes from local contractors of $40,000 for two culverts, but prices would vary as some were more damaged than others. He said nine culverts are in need of repair, with at least two desperately needing attention. A total cost will not be known until the full scope of the project is clear.

Ultimately, officials agreed to speak to contractors to see if the project can be done in its entirety for $350,000.

Elm and North streets

In addition to Avery Road, the Selectboard and Finance Committee agreed culvert repairs on Elm and North streets are also needed. Butler said quotes for these repairs came back at $130,000 and $130,275, respectively.

Work on these two roads would not qualify as emergency repairs, so the project will have to be put out to bid. However, the town will be able to tap into its Chapter 90 account, which has a balance of about $381,000. Using Chapter 90 funding would leave Buckland with roughly $120,000 to cover road work and paving projects until next August.

“We get $185,000 a year for Chapter 90,” Butler explained, “so this has been accrued for a couple of years and we’re going to spend it on these two projects. … It’s August and we have a long road ahead until we see another $185,000.”

Board members said the roads need to be addressed soon, and that deferring maintenance will only lead to further deterioration and more expensive repairs.

“I don’t think we can ignore this,” said Finance Committee member Abby Straus.

Butler added that she is setting a deadline of Nov. 15 to complete the work.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.