WALLINGFORD—Traffic was stopped in both directions for some time on Route 7 in Wallingford village Thursday Feb. 27 as a Clarendon Garage crew worked to move a one-ton slab of rock off the right of way across from Cumberland Farms. The slab had cracked off a low roadside ledge and slid down into the shoulder on the east side of the highway but the travel lane remained open, said Nick Cartularo, a spokesperson for VTrans.
A passerby called VTrans, who notified the town around 9:45 that morning.
Rutland County Sheriff’s Department officers directed traffic around the bucket loader as it labored to lift the slab, which filled the bucket of the machine and weighed slightly over a ton, according to Cartularo.
Cartularo attributed the unexpected slide to the freeze-thaw cycles the state has been experiencing recently. As water seeps into crevices and freezes, it expands and forces the crevices to widen, loosening sections of rock. No one was hurt in the rock slide.
Cartularo encourages residents and travelers to contact the Transportation Management Center at 802-828-2648 to report unusual conditions on state highways. The line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
