September 13th, 1955: Water flow from culvert below road erodes road foundation
September 19th, 1955: Landslide occurred following rain, new asphalt laid down to fix
November 22nd, 1955: During culvert excavation, dirt was pushed to banks and caused landslide
November 16th, 1959: Large rain storm, sewers + streets flooded
May 24th, 1968: After this event, soil boring was conducted at site and engineers contacted to attempt to prevent future landslides
Fall 1976: Landslide sent ~4,000 yds of "earth, trees, and junk vehicles" (Burlington Free Press 1/13/77 Page 14)
January 13th, 1977: Lack of funding stalled cleanup of previous spill and reconstruction/supplementation of riverbank with wall
June 12th, 1981: Illegal dumping of waste on slope, landslide occurred soon after
1981: Landslide across from Koffee Kup Bakery
September 30th, 1983: Discussion around cause of frequent landslides includes initial/developmental construction of road, lack of pipe maintenance, dumping. Further issues of responsibility/funding between state, city, and private land owner.
October 18th, 1983: Veto of bike path restoration, general funding issues in Burlington
December 8th, 1983: Fill was added to "sure up" spot along Riverside Ave across Koffee Kup Bakery
December 29th, 1983: Replacement of "clay muck" with stone and fill, drainage system installed along road
*Unknown date: Construction of lights along road that include installment of underground cables
Over a span of 30 years, numerous landslides occurred along the bank of the Winooski river that stretches along Riverside Ave. Today, several homes and businesses occupy this area that has been prone to these events. Many attempts have been made to prevent future slides, however a significant slide occurred as recently as October 31st, 2019.
Historically, the section along Riverside Ave that has been most active with landslide activity has been directly across from the Koffee Kup Bakery. Most events occur after heavy rainfall, however some have been caused by excessive dumping of waste. Over the span of the timeline, there has been much development around the road/riverbank, including widening of the road, culvert construction, streetlights, filling with sand/rocks/soil, and building of properties/buildings along and across the road. It is unknown if these developments have impacted the stability of the soil, however many efforts have been to strengthen this stability but to no avail. In addition, these efforts were often stalled due to issues with funding and responsibility.