Crews build log barrier along Route 117 as Mill Brook nears roadway

Construction crews are building a wall of stacked logs along Route 117 in Jericho to keep Mill Brook from chewing into the road's embankment. The Vermont Land Trust, which manages the land, says the brook has been shifting toward the roadway for years, and satellite imagery shows how far it moved between 2009 and 2026. Work started in early October and is slated to finish this winter.

The project brings together the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Engineers designed an engineered log jam, a barrier of placed timber that sits between the embankment and the water. It is the first such structure in Vermont built next to a major roadway. Project engineer Jessica Louisos said the build follows a specific plan down to the tree species used. "We actually have some specific layering going on in cross-section, where they laid a log along the bottom, drove the vertical posts in, one on each side, one in the middle to really hold it in place," Louisos said.

Mill Brook has been moving toward the road for several years, according to the land trust. "That was becoming an issue for the road," said Allaire Diamond of the Vermont Land Trust. The log jam is also meant to rebuild the natural floodplain alongside the waterway.

Along the bank, exposed roots from the structure create hiding spots for wildlife. "Walking along down here, you'll see those roots just sticking out from where the logjam was created. And those will be providing a lot of complexity and structure that can shelter fish and other animals," Diamond said.