Flooding causes travel problems throughout SFC
FC Public Works, county road crews inspecting damages, making plans
Flooding was the main problem caused by a storm system that moved through the area Wednesday.
Since Monday, St. Francis County has received about 3 1/2 inches of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service in Memphis.
Both Forrest City and SFC officials said the heavy rainfall Wednesday afternoon caused flooding that impacted county roads and city streets, some of which had to be closed. Crews are assessing those areas today to determine what types of repairs need to be made.
Forrest City Public Works Director Darin Flenoy said city crews had to close down portions of Forrest Street and L’Anguille Road during yesterday’s storm.
“Our biggest problem has been clogged up storm drains. We’re working with the water department to see what’s stopping the flow of water and we’re trying to flush out the storm drains that are causing the problems,” Flenoy said.
Forrest City Mayor Cedric Williams said a few years ago the city had a company map city streets and that, along with a preliminary drainage map, is helping crews determine which areas need the most work.
Williams used the flooding at the intersection of Dillard and Forrest streets as an example.
“Part of the obstruction causing this problem is off of Cook Street near Washington. We’ve traced the whole drainage issue back to this area off Cook Street,” said Williams. “We’ve also had a problem for a long time on Campbell Drive where part of that road washed out. The problem with that road actually needs to be alleviated about a quarter of a mile from Campbell Drive before we can actually fix the road.
“If we’re going to do this drainage thing right, we have this plan to go by, and if we don’t go by it, then we will just be patching more like we have for years and it will continue to show itself,” said Williams, adding that the city is seeking federal funding to help make some of the drainage repairs.
“To fix the problems right, we’re talking about multi-million projects that would take at least a couple of years in regular employment times to get done,” said Williams.
St. Francis County Judge Gary Hughes said several culverts were “washed out” in the county and that crews are working today to make as many of those repairs as possible. “We do have some roads that obviously had some serious washing out,” he said.
SFC 3663, near Highway 306 in the Colt area, was damaged after being recently repaired.
“We had done some repair work on that road,” said Hughes. “We’ve decided a lot of water evidently comes across there, so we’re looking to put in a bigger pipe this time.”
Hughes said crews are “working to get those roads put back together, which most of the time means getting out there
with the grader and reforming it. We do have some culverts to replace, as well, on the gravel roads that had damages. We’re trying to get everything back in pretty good shape.”
Hughes said the snow and ice events in February, combined with the recent heavy rainfall in the area is putting a strain on the county’s road budget.
“It’s a strain on the budget, no doubt about it with the costs of fuel, asphalt, repair materials and culverts. The budget is still surviving, but it’s definitely a strain,” he said.
Zakk Jumper, St. Francis County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator, said the problems were mainly flooding as there was not much damage caused by trees falling on structures during this storm.
“The water just couldn’t go anywhere,” said Jumper.
NWS Meteorologist John Sirmon said about 1 3/4 inches of rain fell in the county on Wednesday, but the rainfall that fell on Monday and Tuesday this week contributed to the problems caused by Wednesday’s storms.
Although the forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms overnight Friday, Sirmon said the storms are not expected to be severe.
Anna Horton, with Woodruff Electric, said the cooperative had numerous outages throughout its system but all power was restored by about 11 p.m., Wednesday.
“Luckily, our system did not have extensive damage caused by the storms that affected our area,” said Horton. “As of now, there are only 53 members without power statewide for the cooperatives, so our crews were not dispatched to assist other cooperatives.”
The Forrest City Fire Department responded to a house fire in the middle of Wednesday’s storm that firemen believe was caused by lightning. The residence was completely destroyed in the blaze, according to officials.