This weekend is the big one - the weekend when it seems like the whole of New York and southern New England wants to visit Vermont.
In virtually every town in Windham County, there are events tied to the crush of tourists that arrive every Columbus Day weekend.
But this autumn might be different.
The damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene on Aug. 28 was epic in so many places in our state, there were legitimate fears that businesses would take in fewer tourist dollars from the leaf peepers this year.
But five weeks after the storm, some of the flooded-out businesses are reopening, and many roads have been repaired enough to be passable.
The recovery efforts have been heroic, and probably the most heroic efforts have been made by the crews of the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
With help from National Guard units, private contractors, and state crews from Maine and New Hampshire, the Vermont AOT worked miracles.
AOT workers first focused on establishing connections to communities that were isolated by flooding, and they achieved that goal within a couple of days.
Transportation Secretary Brian Searles wrote recently that immediately after the storm, there were 166 closures on the Vermont state highway system. By Sept. 8, only 33 roads and 14 bridges were still closed after the AOT reopened 340 miles of the 450 miles of state highway closed as a result of Irene.
As of this writing, nearly every highway that was damaged by the storm has been repaired.
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“While we have made remarkable progress in a short time, Vermonters need to understand that many of our roads and highways will not be the same as they were before the storm,” Searles wrote last month. “We are working around the clock to restore our highways, but due to the emergency nature of these repairs, there will be rough sections of road even though they are open.”
We locals understand, and are driving these roads accordingly. To the visitors who might be reading, we suggest that you drive slowly and pay attention to the signs.
Searles wrote that the immediate goal “is to rebuild the state highway system to a level that provides safe transport for Vermonters and visitors during the upcoming winter.” If there is no more political fighting in Washington, the state should be receiving federal funds to make permanent repairs to the road network.
But, in the meantime, people can still get around Vermont. That goal seemed impossible a few weeks ago. But accomplishing the impossible has been almost commonplace since Irene.
So, enjoy the apple pies, craft festivals, concerts, and other events this weekend, and give thanks to the hard-working men and women who made it possible to get around the state to enjoy them.