N.H. Department of Transportation Commissioner George Campbell toured the flash flood-damaged areas in the Lakes Region on Friday. Standing on Winona Road, which extends from Meredith into New Hampton, Campbell said the rushing water caused an estimated million dollars in damage to the state-owned road.

A railroad trestle made of cut granite blocks that motorists must pass under ended up working as a bit of a dam during the raging storm. Rocks and gravel were strewn beneath it and water was flowing beneath it over the remains of the road at mid-day on Friday.

Campbell, who toured the area with District 2 State Senator Deborah Reynolds of Plymouth, said he will be seeking federal relief funding to help pay for the repairs. Campbell said the state will be hiring a private contractor to fix the ruined road to get it reopened as soon as possible.

New Hampton selectmen who met with Campbell reported some 22 miles of roads in their community were damaged by the storm.

Sen. Reynolds said she had been in touch with congressmen Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes as well as senators John Sununu and Judd Gregg to ask for their assistance in obtaining federal monies.

"This road is the poster child for the damage caused by this storm," Campbell said. The local damage was as severe as some of the flood damage that occurred in Alstead, he said.

In recent days, Campbell said, he has been throughout the state keeping a watchful eye on roads that could potentially fail if the foul weather continues. He said the precipitation has been so persistent that the ground is saturated, causing ideal conditions for flash flooding.

DARYL CARLSON/CITIZEN PHOTO Paul Beaudoin points to the damage wrought by flash flooding along Waukewan Street in Meredith Thursday evening around his home. Although the high waters stripped the land away six feet deep, not a drop of water was evident in his basement. Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

"Misery loves company," Campbell said of other areas of the state that have also experienced weather-related damage.

Sen. Reynolds said she also had been in touch with Governor John Lynch as well as the state's Emergency Operations Center.

"If you were not here, you wouldn't be aware of how devastating the damage is," she said.

She pledged to remain visible and available to her constituents and to work to obtain federal funding to assist the state pay the bill for what could be millions of dollars in repairs.

Roger Lamontagne, maintenance supervisor for DOT Division 3, based in Gilford, said storms last year caused similar damage on Route 28 in Alton.

Surveying the damage on Pease Road in Meredith that stretches from Route 104 to Parade Road in Laconia, Lamontagne said a major section of the road must be completely rebuilt. He said excavators would be used to break up the ruined pavement and load it onto trucks to be hauled away. Meanwhile, a fleet of dump trucks will be used to ferry in loads of gravel to rebuild the road base.

Lamontagne who has worked for the DOT for nearly three decades, said he had two excavators and a fleet of a dozen to 15 six-wheel and 10-wheel dump trucks working in the region before noontime. He'd called for reinforcements and was expecting two more excavators and another dozen trucks to come in from the Durham and Hooksett areas.

Bea Lewis/Citizen Photo New Hampshire Department of Transportation Commissioner George Campbell, left, looks over the damage on Winona Road with District 2 State Senator Deborah Reynolds on Friday. Reynolds and Campbell have teamed up and are seeking federal disaster relief funds to repair the state-maintained road where damage from Thursday flash flood is estimated at $1 million. Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

The state, he said, has asked the owners of area gravel pits to stay open so that crews can have the needed access to the variety of aggregate needed to rebuild roadbeds.

Al Bolduc, the assistant public works director in Meredith, was busy working to repair a gaping hole on Wall Street, off Waukewan Street. He said local crews remained out making repairs until 3 a.m. and then got about a two and-a-half-hour break before being called in at 6 a.m.

"Thank God it wasn't snow," Bolduc said.

While many roads in Meredith sustained some major damage, Bolduc expressed relief that the network of dirt roads in the Chemung area outside Meredith Center held up well. Crews had recently redug major ditch lines and graded and crowned the roads to help shed water.

He said some the hardest-hit areas in Meredith included Winona Forest in Winona Shores of Winona Road, Neil Shore Road, and Pollard Shores and Pease roads.

Bea Lewis/Citizen Photo Spectators gathered Friday to look over the damage to Winona Road. Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

Local crews were right in the middle of a reconstruction project on Chase Road and Bolduc said that, as a result of the deluge, the work will need to be done again.

DOT officials said a local weather observer reported his rain gauge measured six and a half inches of rain fell in an hour and a half Thursday night.

On Waukewan Street, a town road in Meredith, a newly built ranch overlooking Lake Waukewan, the town's drinking water source, had a section of its foundation undercut by the fast-moving water. A steady parade of people walked by to see the damage as passing motorists also slowed to ponder the damage.

At neighboring Waukewan Beach, the water level was so high the beach was under water. The lake was lapping at the base of the lifeguard stands.

The railroad tracks that border the lake and Waukewan Street near Monkey Pond also were undermined during the storm, causing gravel, dirt and other debris to foul the water.