Some businesses along the Connecticut River suffered tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage after January’s ice jam.
Three months later, they’re still in the midst of cleanup.
Andrews Marina owner David Papallo hired a company to dive under the docks at the marina in Haddam and use a chainsaw to remove some of the pilings snapped by the ice.
“To snap pilings all the way inside the basin was just—I didn’t think it could happen,” Papallo said.
Piling after piling broken at the mudline left the Haddam marina owner with around $40,000 worth of damage.
A few even got stuck so a crew needed to pry up the dock to remove them. Visibility under the water also posed a challenge.
“In a matter of three minutes, (the ice jam) wiped out a good number in here,” Papallo said.
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But he still plans to open for the season on May 1.
The ice jam also destroyed RiverQuest’s dock.
“All structure underneath the dock was shattered by the ice,” said Captain Mark Yuknat. “We had a big six-foot-high block of ice coming through here.”
Yuknat shelled out about $10,000 Friday and will have to pay possibly another $20,000 to $30,000 next year. He watched the damage unfurl from Key West, Florida.
“I had to get another margarita after that,” he said.
Now, he said he can’t afford one after getting the bill.
