Beavers plug a culvert and flood Route 13 in Dunbarton

Dunbarton Chief Chris Remillard directs traffic around a flooded portion of Route 13 near the center of town Wednesady, may 7, 2025. Beavers had plugged up a culvert under the road after days of heavy rain. State Department of Transportation workers cleared it.

Dunbarton Chief Chris Remillard directs traffic around a flooded portion of Route 13 near the center of town Wednesady, may 7, 2025. Beavers had plugged up a culvert under the road after days of heavy rain. State Department of Transportation workers cleared it. David Brooks—Monitor stafff

This is what Route 13 looked like when Chief Chris Remillard showed up Wednesday morning, March 7.

This is what Route 13 looked like when Chief Chris Remillard showed up Wednesday morning, March 7. Chief Chris Remillard—Courtesy

By DAVID BROOKS

Monitor staff

Published: 05-07-2025 10:16 AM

Beavers that were –  well, as busy as beavers – plugged up a culvert running under Route 13 near the center of Dunbarton overnight, which flooded the road and slowed morning traffic on the town’s major through-road.

“We looked up the pipe and it was totally blocked,” said Leon Gadwah, one of several state Department of Transportation workers on site Wednesday morning.  The culvert had been fine the day before, carrying water from a wetlands on the road’s east side to a small creek on the west side. “They did it overnight. It doesn’t take them much time.”

Police Chief Chris Remillard said the water completely covered the northbound lane when it was first reported. He spent the morning directing traffic on what had become a one-lane road. “I’m the day shift,” he noted. 

 By 8:30 a.m., the culvert had been cleared, but it took some time for the water to rush through and clear the road.

More than six inches of rain have fallen in the region over the past week, raising the level of ponds and streams.

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