Storm damage leads to chaotic day on Canton roads

Turnpike Street (Route 138) at Washington Street had to be shut down for most of the day on Monday after a powerful rain and windstorm swept the area, taking down poles, a transformer and utility lines.

Town officials issued a Reverse 911 call midmorning on Monday, Dec. 18 to alert residents and businesses of the closure, and Canton Police contacted the Mass. State Police and requested a temporary closure of the ramp from I-93 to help keep traffic down.

The problems in the Route 138 corridor began around 2 a.m. with a downed transformer near Crowell’s Market and additional downed utility lines reported later in the morning. Route 138 finally reopened to all traffic around 11 p.m., although some locations, such as Tracywood Road, were still closed with downed trees and power lines as of Tuesday morning. Metropolis Skating Rink was also still without power as of Tuesday but the building’s emergency generator was operational, according to Town Administrator Charles Doody.

Doody said there were pockets of power outages reported around town on Monday due to fallen trees and wires, including on Walpole Street, Indian Lane and Tracywood Road.

DPW Operations Manager William Walsh Jr. said the DPW responded to 40 calls and had six crews out clearing trees and brush off roadways. “We will be chipping up brush for the next week to clean up from the storm,” said Walsh.

Fire Lt. John Hutchinson said the CFD responded to 39 emergency calls — most of them storm related — in a 24-hour span on Monday. Off-duty firefighters were recalled to the station to handle the increased volume, and an extra engine was stationed at the Ponkapoag school house to cover the north end of town after the closure of Route 138. Fortunately, there were no injuries or evacuations, Hutchinson said.

Police Sergeant Joe Silvasy, who worked all day and into the night, said it was a very chaotic day on the roads, especially with detours on Route 138. Deputy Police Chief Patty Sherrill credited the school bus drivers for getting the children to and from school despite all of the detours.

According to the Canton Police Log, downed wires down were reported on Elm Street, Bailey Street, Wentworth Road, Chapman Street and Heather Lane, Mohawk Road, Greenlodge Street, Washington and Dedham streets, Tracywood Road, Pleasant and Washington streets, Casey Street, Sherman and Prospect streets, Walpole Street, Wayside Lane, Standish Drive and Lawrence Street. Road hazards were reported on Indian Lane, Mohawk Road, Elm Street, Old Meadow Lane, Turnpike Street, Randolph Street at Massasoit Community College, High Street, Bolivar Street and Cross Street.

Ironically, the Traffic Committee cancelled its Monday night meeting due to all of the power and traffic issues in town. The meeting will be rescheduled for a date to be announced in January.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Dec 22 2023. Filed under News, Police & Fire. Both comments and pings are currently closed.