Town Storm Pickup to be Done by Tuesday

The bulk of the town's October snow storm debris pickup program should be finished by the end of Saturday with full completion likely to be Monday or Tuesday, Director Fred Hurley said.

"We're going to be real close by end of Saturday," he said.

Completion of the program, which began Nov. 14, has been delayed, mainly due to the volume of storm debris, which exceed the amount following an earlier Tropical Storm Irene, officials said.

"The quantities were staggering," Hurley said. "This is two-and-a-half, three times worse than Irene was."

About 70 to 80 people, including from two contractors and nearly all local residents, are involved in the effort, which officials have said the costs will be reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Half of the town has had all of its storm debris picked up while a third quadrant is nearly done though workers are slated to return to a couple of areas that were missed. The bulk of the work now is in the fourth quadrant, officials said.

Newtown only is responsible for storm debris pickup on local roads while the state covers its highway. State officials have said their plan is to do a first pass on all state highways by Dec. 15 and finish the work before Christmas.