Specifications include, but are not limited to: The proposed project is to perform an alternatives analysis, develop conceptual engineering plans, and prepare a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) for a project that would mitigate flood hazards at the D&H Rail Trail Bridge over the Poultney River in Poultney, VT. The location has been identified in the Poultney Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan as being vulnerable to flooding due to the bridge alignment and span over the Poultney River. The current bridge is a single span bridge and is primarily used for hiking, biking, and snowmobile crossings over the river. The Town will hire a consulting engineering firm or team to prepare hydrologic and hydraulic models for evaluating alternatives to improve management of flood waters in this section of the Poultney River. The goals of the project are to reduce future flood risks to infrastructure and investments while maintaining water quality, protecting floodplain functions and aquatic habitat, and improving public safety through flood resiliency. With informed river science-based alternatives and community acceptance of the alternatives, future rounds of state or federal hazard mitigation funds will be requested for final design and construction costs to implement selected alternative(s).
