Flooding and tornadoes were not the only problems created by Tropical Storm Ida in Alabama.
Washed out rural roads, and worries about bridge safety, is also part of the storm’s aftermath.
A collapsed county highway in Mississippi – about 30 miles from the Alabama state line – led to tragedy early Tuesday, and has generated national media attention all day. But worries also exist in Baldwin and Mobile counties, where highway engineers are monitoring the safety of roads and bridges pelted with two days of persistent rains as Ida’s feeder bands whipped coastal Alabama.
In one area of Baldwin County, at least 25 residents are stranded and unable to access a public roadway from their properties.
River Road
The Baldwin County Highway Department is assessing damage to River Road north of Interstate 10 in the Elsanor community. A creek that flows into the nearby Styx River overtopped the road and washed it away.
County Engineer Joey Nunnally said repairs to the road “are at the top of our list” for repairs “as soon as the water recedes.”
That is expected to occur soon, according to Jenni Guerry, deputy director with the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency. The Styx River crested Tuesday afternoon at 15.24 feet, which placed it in “moderate flood stage,” Guerry said. She said it will soon decrease. The river, at 12 feet, is considered in a “minor” flood stage.
Guerry said that her EMA staff, during a tour of the area on Monday, learned about the residents who are unable to leave their homes until the water recedes.
“When we spoke with them, there was no one in crisis or danger,” Guerry said, who added that residents are in contact with a local volunteer fire department and the county’s 911 system “to make sure they can make accommodations if there is an emergency response.”
The washout occurred where River Road encounters Flat Creek, which flows directly into the Styx River. The same creek also caused flooding on Truck Trail 17, which is north of River Road.
Nunnally said that River Road has washed out before. He said it will only take “about a day or two” to repair the road, at a cost of around $50,000 to $75,000.
“We have tried to get some grant money in the past to relocate the road out of the floodplain, but was unsuccessful,” he said. “Historically, the residents have used some private roads to access Truck Trail 17 to travel to and from their residents when Styx River floods.”
The county is also monitoring river stages at Fish and Perdido rivers. Only Perdido reached “minor” flood stage during the tropical storm, but it has since receded.
“We have been and will continue to inspect roads (Tuesday) for safety issues and any compromised areas but we don’t know of any at that moment,” Nunnally said earlier on Tuesday. “The upgrades that we have done to our infrastructure after past storms have mitigated any damages that we may have had.”
Mobile County
In Mobile County, Roberts Road between Kidd Road and Old Citronelle Road in Chunchula remained closed because flood waters rose above the bridge. Barricades and signage were installed to warn people of driving over it.
“Road and bridge safety is always a priority,” said Mobile County Engineer Bryan Kegley. “Mobile County Public Works forces will be spending considerable effort to check roads and bridges this week, including full inspections as necessary to ensure safe travel.”
He said the county will pay close attention to the Escatawpa River watershed in the coming days “because it typically rises later than smaller watersheds.”
Mike Evans, deputy director with the Mobile County EMA, said he’s not heard in recent years “chatter, complaint or questions” about dangerous public roads. He said the complaints to his office are often from people who are worried about private roads, which the county is not responsible to maintain.
Evans said that from a county EMA perspective, the message during rain events that can cause flooding, is this: If there is water on the road, do not drive through it.
“You might look at it and say, ‘That’s just 1 foot of water on the road,’ and it might only be that much,” Evans said. “But more of it might be washed out. If you can go another way, you stop, turn around and go another way.”
The concerns about the roads comes after a tragic collapse of a two-lane highway near Lucedale, Mississippi, early Tuesday morning. Two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured when seven vehicles plunged into a deep hole along Mississippi Highway 26, west of Lucedale.
Heavy rainfall from Ida is believed to have caused the collapse. Ida dumped up to 13 inches of rain in Mississippi, according to The Associated Press quoting figures from The National Weather Service.
The NWS in Mobile reported 4 to 8 inches of rain accumulated in Mobile and Baldwin counties during the two-day tropical storm. The heaviest rains accumulated in west Mobile at Mobile Regional Airport, which recorded 7.25 inches of rain.
In this image made from video and provided by WLOX-TV, a vehicle is extracted from a hole on highway 26, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, near Lucedale, Miss. Troopers have said that both the east and westbound lanes of Highway 26 in George County west of Lucedale collapsed. (WLOX-TV via AP)AP
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