Part of Route 11 closed by flooding

GILFORD — Torrential rains forced an hours-long shutdown of one of the heaviest-traveled sections of Route 11, causing traffic to detour the area and disrupting businesses at two large stores fronting the flooded part of the highway.

The Gilford Fire Department was first called out at 8:45 a.m. Sunday. When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, a few minutes later the water was already waist-high in front of the entrances to the Hannaford supermarket and Lowe’s home improvement store in the Winnipesaukee Crossing shopping center.

Fire Chief Stephen Carrier attributed the flash flood to a culvert near one of the entrances which was unable to handle the torrential rains which fell overnight, in part due to silt and debris which had been carried by a similar deluge in July.

Carrier said a contractor was in the process of working on the culvert in the days prior to weekend rains.

Rainfall for Saturday and Sunday morning totaled 2.88 inches in Gilford, and 2.1 inches in Laconia, based on measurements taken by local volunteer weather observers, according to Brendon Hoch, a regional coordinator for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network.

Carrier said there was a disabled vehicle in the middle of the flooded four-lane highway when firefighters arrived. The lone occupant was led to safety by emergency responders, he said. Some time later another vehicle became disabled when the driver drove around a police cruiser blocking the highway and became stalled in the deep water. Firefighters then had to lead the driver and a child passenger to higher ground.

Both vehicles needed to be towed.

The same area flooded on July 29 when another period of intense heavy rain caused Black Brook, which runs parallel to the highway, to overflow because culverts which channel the water under entrances to some businesses were unable to handle the volume of water.

An approximately quarter-mile-long stretch of the road was closed off between the entrance to the Walmart Plaza and where Route 11 intersects with Lake Street at the Gilford-Laconia line.

The parking lot for Lowe’s and Hannaford was inaccessible for several hours.

In addition to local traffic the affected area of Route 11 provides access for vehicles coming off the Laconia Bypass and traveling north on Route 3 toward Weirs Beach and Meredith, as well as into Laconia.

Fire Department personnel cleared the scene shortly after 1 p.m. But the highway remained closed to traffic for sometime afterward.

Carrier reported there was some minor flooding on the side of Route 11A east of Gunstock. Traffic cones were placed to block off where water had collected on the road, but the highway remained open. He said the department assisted one homeowner whose basement flooded.

The rains cause few problems in Laconia, according to the Public Works Department. No significant problems were reported in Belmont, according to the Police Department.

Laconia Public Works Director Wes Anderson said there was some erosion on Plantation Road and Colonial Drive — both dirt streets — in Weirs Beach along with some problems near Pickerel Cove off Paugus Bay.