HESCO flood barriers were installed on the Burlington Riverfront yesterday morning, even though the river isn’t currently expected to flood outside of it’s banks.
Burlington Public Works Director Steve Hoambrecker says that the river was projected to crest at 16.3 feet Thursday. City crews started work on installing 150 of the barriers along the riverfront Thursday morning. Hoambrecker says that past experience has taught the department that it’s better to start early on setting up flood barriers, as a heavy rain upstream could cause the river to rise rapidly and unexpectedly.
Hoambrecker says that the work will be done without needing to use overtime hours for city crews. He says that the department had to learn that hard way last summer to set up barriers early, especially around the city’s lift station.
