County roads were slammed for the second time in three weeks by flash floods after Wednesday’s afternoon thunderstorms dumped up to five inches of rain to areas throughout Phelps County.
Road crews frantically worked to shore up numerous wash-outs, remove fallen trees and clear debris from bridges, in what Road and Bridge Supervisor Walter Snelson called a twice-eventful month.
“We’re still repairing roads from the May 8 event,” Snelson told the Phelps County Commission Thursday.
Snelson said road crews presently were checking county roads for additional flash-flood damages, and although major wash-outs had been repaired and all roads were rough but accessible, crews would be repairing storm-damaged roads for several weeks.
Presiding Commissioner Randy Verkamp, after hearing Snelson’s detailed report, said, “If President Barack Obama doesn’t declare an emergency in our county, we’re in trouble.
“We need more than $0.5 million just to catch up,” Verkamp said.
Snelson said he was documenting costs and repairs for impending SEMA and FEMA reports.
However, although Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon requested a major-disaster declaration from Obama on May 20, Nixon cited 38 Missouri counties in dire need of public assistance, and Phelps County was not among the list. Nixon said he still awaited joint federal, state and local damage-assessment reports identifying which counties should be eligible for public assistance. That would entail a 75-percent reimbursement from FEMA for disaster-related costs incurred by state and local governments.
County roads impacted by wash-outs included 4120, 5280, 5310, 5420 and 5440. A low-water crossing on County Road 4120, a dead-end street, collapsed when a concrete slab washed away. The front-end of a car dropped into the precipice, Snelson said, but no one was injured. The low-water crossing was repaired Thursday morning and is accessible, Snelson said.
Additionally, several roads initially were impassable because of downed trees, which road crews sawed into pieces before removal. County roads 4120, 5340, 5440 and 6020 needed immediate tree debris removal, Snelson said.
Bridges affected by the flash floods included the Grotto Bridge on County Road 7530, Vida Bridge on County Road 7460 and the Callen Bridge on County Road 7360. Although all three bridges remain open, Snelson said, they collected debris that will have to be cleared.
Moreover, the Commission reviewed a notification from MoDOT stating Phelps County’s allotted Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program (BRO) funds for 2009 were reduced by $9,848. The rescission adjustment was required because Title I, of the Omnibus Appropriations Act 2009 rescinded $3.15 billion of unobligated federal-aid highway funds nationwide, MoDOT said.
