The cost of repairs is still being tallied after 60 mile-per-hour winds barreled through Charlottesville on Thursday, June 24. “There was obvious overtime and some damage to our parks,” said Ric Barrick, city director of communications, via e-mail. “We will be applying for federal aid. At the least it gives residents a chance to apply for low-interest loans for repair needs.”
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If a tree falls at a World Heritage Site, does it make a sound? Monticello shut down a portion of its two-mile Saunders-Monticello trail after a massive hickory tree fell during the June 24 storm and damaged a portion of the path. |
The city’s clean-up efforts rely on dump trucks, shredders and leased equipment to remove large debris. According to Barrick, tree limbs must be 12" or less in diameter for city removal. Private contractors hired for clean-up work are responsible for removing debris themselves.
At Monticello, a large hickory tree fell on the two-mile Saunders-Monticello Trail and damaged a portion of the raised walkway. The mountain roads have not yet been surveyed, said Peter Hatch, the director of gardens and grounds at Monticello, but “most of the damage, except to the parkway boardwalk, was not catastrophic.” The trail has been temporarily closed at mile marker 1, near Michie Tavern, and roughly two-tenths of a mile from Saunders Bridge.
According to Hatch, 85,000 people walk on the Saunders-Monticello trail each year. “We have a lot of regulars who are addicted to the trail,” said Hatch. “It’s one of the seven wonders of Charlottesville. I don’t know if this is true, but I say it’s the only trail that goes up a mountain that’s completely handicap accessible.”
Two full-time employees have struggled with nearly continuous maintenance work on trails and the Thomas Jefferson Parkway since last winter’s snowstorms, according to Hatch. “It’s a private park open to the public, and we’re very proud of it,” states Hatch of the $6.5 million parkway project, which included development of the Saunders-Monticello trail. “But it’s draining our resources.” Fundraising and volunteer efforts help maintain the parkway and trails.
In 2003, Hurricane Isabel left the parkway in need of $140,000 in repairs. “[This storm] is similar, but not of the same magnitude,” said Hatch. He predicted that the full trail might reopen in six weeks, and was optimistic that it might happen sooner. Repairs began on Tuesday, June 29.
Meanwhile, the city’s clean-up will move from the south side of town to the highly affected areas of the north and west, in order for tree debris to be moved to the street for pick-up. “The whole process should take two weeks,” says Barrick, “but since we don’t know exactly how much debris we are dealing with, we will need to be flexible with that timeline.”
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