BENTON, Mo. -- Weekend flooding and the aftermath were among the main topics discussed during Tuesday's regular Scott County Commission meeting.
Scott County Highway Department Supervisor Norman Brant said he and his staff worked around the clock Friday, Saturday and Sunday to combat the heavy rainfall and flooding.
"Our first step was just to try to make the roads safe for the cars. We coned off/taped off/barricaded off any bad spot, and if we had to, we made it one-lane or closed the road until we could get back and work on it," Brant said Tuesday.
During inclement weather like this weekend, Brant said often times, he and his workers are out looking in the area, especially at areas known to be problems in the past. The sheriff's department has also been good about checking areas, he said.
"We've had washouts all over the county, and we're doing the best we can," Brant said.
Two culverts washed out on County Road 332, he said, adding the culverts are flowing fine and working good, Brant said.
"It was just so much water (in small amount of time), they couldn't handle them and washed out," Brant said. "That's basically what happened all the way around."
Among the hardest hit roads was Park Road, located north of Morley off Highway 61. The road, which runs east and west, leads to a few residences and the General Watkins Conservation Area.
Heavy rains forced half of the gravel road to come off the north side of the road by a 50-foot gully.
On Monday highway workers built a four-foot wide road on the south side so the people who live beyond that road could get safely to their homes, Brant said.
"Now we're going to start in on stabilizing the north side," Brant said. "We asked the National Guard and SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency) for help in hauling and stabilizing this road so any future rain doesn't take away or destroy more of it."
So for the next couple weeks, county highway workers will haul dirt and concrete the county has stockpiled to fill the gully, he said.
Brant said the county has a good working relationship with the public, and he encouraged continued communication between the two.
"Every time a person who lives on that road in need calls, I thank them for calling because we have 350 miles of road, and we can't be on every road at every time, but they can be," Brant said. "So I encourage the people, if they have a problem on their roads to call me, and that way, we know so we can get out there and take care of it."
In addition, County Road 214 remained closed on Tuesday. Also Route E in Commerce was the only state road in Scott County that remained closed as of Tuesday, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The Mississippi River level in Commerce on Tuesday was lacking at the base of that gauge, according to Trey Hardy, director of the Scott County Emergency Management Agency, who briefed the commissioners on the current flood stages in the county and region.
As of early Tuesday, the National Guard was assigned to the Mississippi River at Commerce, which means they are monitoring the levee and it is closed to traffic, he said.
Hardy also noted there is a slight risk of severe weather with 1 to 1.5 inches of rain forecast Wednesday into Wednesday night.