THETFORD — After a spike in popped tires, local officials are blaming sharp rocks meant to mitigate a mud season mess.
“Last year, mud season was so horrendous,” said Sharon Harkay, Thetford’s selectboard chair. The town had used sand for road repairs, but found that it only exacerbated the roads’ deterioration. To prepare for this year’s thaw, Thetford switched to using a larger stone on dirt roads — with an unintended side effect.
“The problem is, the stones, some of them have such sharp points, they’re creating a problem,” Harkay said.
A flurry of residents took to the town’s listserv to recount their recent tire troubles. One reported four flats in the last six weeks. Another bemoaned two flats this year after going 12 years without.
Leslie Graham, who’s lived in Thetford for 30 years, said she’d never had any problems with tires until recently.
A couple of months ago, her low-pressure tire warning light flicked on. Graham’s commute includes about a quarter of a mile on dirt roads. When she got to the highway, the tire went “totally flat.” She had to buy a full set of new tires as a result, costing her more than $1,000.
And only three weeks ago, she got another flat. The local tire dealer told her that her tires were “loaded with rocks.”
“Every time I get in my car, I’m like, ‘Am I going to get a low pressure light?’ ” she said.
According to Bryan Gazda, Thetford’s town manager, he’s heard from about a dozen residents frustrated with the new stone material.
“With the horrendous mud season we experienced last March, we wanted to try a different material that would provide traction, but hopefully not contribute to the degradation of our gravel roads,” he said, adding, “Given the response we have received, we are in the process of changing back.”
Gazda noted that the town had already secured some sand to use on the roads for now.
Many residents across Vermont bemoaned last year’s mud season as the worst they could remember.
Thetford typically buys road materials throughout the winter, so the switch back to sand shouldn’t have any effect on the 2023 budget, Gazda said.
The road situation will be addressed at Thetford’s next selectboard meeting on Monday, according to Harkay, the board’s chair.