The Recorder – Nash’s Mill Road in Greenfield reopens five days after flooding

GREENFIELD — The Department of Public Works reopened Nash’s Mill Road on Wednesday, five days after flooding from the Green River made the road impassable.

The considerable damage to the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area’s building, beach and parking lot, however, will soon need to be assessed.

DPW Director Marlo Warner II said Friday’s flooding spilled 3 to 6 inches of sand, silt and debris onto sections of Nash’s Mill Road’s surface, “and it’s taken quite a bit of scraping to get down to the roadway.”

“The temperatures dropped like a rock. We were kind of at the mercy of the weather,” he explained, adding that the road had to be scraped and treated with salt. “We had to do this multiple times. … When it froze overnight, there was nothing we could do with it.”

Nash’s Mill Road, Colrain Road and Kimball Drive were closed on Friday due to the potential for flooding, though Warner said Nash’s Mill Road was the only one closed past Monday. He said the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area’s gravel parking lot has closed for the winter because silt and sand dunes have made it impassable.

“Someone would surely get stuck in there and have to be towed out,” Warner said. The swimming and recreation area is always closed for the winter months.

Warner said about a foot of water got into the building and the damage still needs to be assessed. He said the building’s electrical components were previously installed well above ground level and they do not appear to have been compromised by this most recent flooding. He estimates the number of floods the swimming and recreation area has endured in his roughly 23 years with the city has been “in the double digits.”

Warner noted the sand from the beach has washed throughout the property and will need to be replaced.

According to the Greenfield Police Department’s Facebook page, the city’s police and fire departments initiated the flood plan at the first signs of flooding. Members of the departments went to flood-prone areas and ensured all unsheltered individuals were alerted to the danger and asked to evacuate. Assistance was provided to anyone who couldn’t find shelter elsewhere and needed additional services. No one was injured as a result of the flooding.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.