Panel gets update on flood-hit roads

Agency chief: Too soon to know toll

It will be weeks before the Arkansas Department of Transportation will know the extent of the damage caused by flooding to state highways and the costs for repairs, the agency’s top official said Wednesday.

“It’s going to be some time before we have a true estimate of what the damage is,” said Scott Bennett, the agency director.

Bennett said at a meeting of the Arkansas Highway Commission that the agency would be able to tap into a $5 million reserve fund set aside to deal with inclement weather events.

“A flood event is probably inclement weather,” he said.

Sections on more than 40 highways were flooded, mostly because of the Arkansas River overflowing its banks. The number was down to eight Wednesday.

At one time, five river crossings were closed, Bennett said. All the crossings are open now.

A crossing at Arkansas 7 between Russellville and Dardanelle was kept open by the department’s District 8 crews.

“They did a great job of keeping that open,” Bennett said.

He expressed concern about the extent of damage to a section of Arkansas 155 near Holla Bend, which was swept away and rendered impassable when the Arkansas River breached a levee.

The water is 45 feet deep “where the highway should be,” Bennett said. “It’s going to take a whole lot of material and a whole of time” to fix it.

Meanwhile, a hotline the department established for inquiries about flooded highways fielded 3,300 calls and 300 texts. At the height of the flooding, calls were arriving at a rate of 100 per hour, Bennett said.

A total of 100 employees volunteered their time to staff the telephones from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.