Hudson Valley commuters who show up late for work this week can blame it on mischievous beavers.

There are a million things that can go wrong with your morning commute in the Hudson Valley. Whether it's construction, an accident, snow, or rain; getting to or from work can sometimes be a huge hassle.

This week, drivers have run into an unusual circumstance that I can honestly say is something I've never heard of happening here in the Hudson Valley before. Commuters are dealing with a mile-long backup due to busy beavers.

Couple of beaver eating away a tree
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The beavers have moved into areas in Orange County and have decided to make themselves at home, doing what all beavers tend to do. The critters have been hard at work building dams in certain sections of the county, which have now resulted in some serious flooding problems.

Drivers on I-84 may have noticed that lanes were closed on Monday and traffic has seriously backed up. This is all due to flooding from beaver dams. Hudson Valley traffic reporter, Nancy Reamy, warned on Monday that the westbound side of I-84 heading into Maybrook was experiencing serious flooding. Water on the roadway had shut down the left lane just before I-747 heading to Stewart Airport at exit 32. The result was over a mile-long backup during the busy morning commute.

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Apparently, the beaver dams have caused rainwater over the past few days to flood out onto the roadway, creating serious driving hazards. According to the Humane Society, breaking down beaver dams is not an effective way of solving the problem. It takes many hours using heavy construction equipment to destroy the dams, only for beavers to quickly rebuild them again. Relocating or killing beavers is also not suggested, as it can wreak havoc on the local ecosystem.

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There are devices that can be installed that "trick" beavers into building dams that don't result in flooding, but those can be very expensive and require maintenance and supervision.

It's unclear if a solution is being proposed to stop the beavers from flooding out I-84, but in the meantime, drivers will just have to prepare themselves for delays this week thanks to those busy little rodents.

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