Following the flood of May 1-2, the department has been in the process of putting the county’s flood-ravaged road system back into place.
Though not as bad as the flood four months ago, the county’s road system was hit again with heavy rains falling Tuesday and into today.
Unofficially, eight inches of rain fell during one 12-hour period spanning from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
“A lot of debris fell in the last flood, and that’s still in the creeks,” Regina Flippin of the highway department said. “What happens when it rains like this, a heavy rain, it washes all the debris down to our tiles and into our bridges, stops them up and then the water has to find a way to go somewhere.”
This latest round of flooding started on the east side of the county and spread west.
As of 10:30 a.m. today, 17 roads in Macon County are closed. Some are closed due to high water. Others are closed due to actual damage caused by the high water.
Closed are:
Wilder Lane – road damage
Phillips Hollow – road damage
Addison Hollow – road damage
Gas Hollow – road damage
Pedigo Lane – road damage
Jay Lane – high water
Whitson Hollow – high water
Tanyard @ Loftis – high water
Kirbytown – one lane closed due to undermining
Green Valley Road – Road Damage
Hirestown Road- High water
West Fork Creek Road – Road Damage
East Walnut Shade – High Water
Bottom Road @ Driver Road – Bridge stopped up / High water
Shrum Cemetery Road – road Damage
Claiborne Lane – Road Damage
Maxie Bluff Road – Road Damage
“Right now we’ve got crews out trying to close off roads,” Flippin said. “Right now, the water is so high there’s not a whole lot of road repairs that can be done.”
Flippin said the highway department, under the direction of Road Supervisor Audie Cook, hopes to have most roads back open “within a week or two as far as being open, but we won’t have them repaired for a little while.”
“Major damage” was done to Gas Hollow and Addison Hollow roads. Tiles have completely washed out in these locations.
Flippin said the highway department hasn’t had to call in extra help to deal with the issues.
She added that Keith Scruggs, the county’s emergency management director, has offered the rescue squad to help the highway department, but the help hasn’t been needed yet.
Post a Comment
