County Crews Begin Roadwork on 41, Again

BY MELANIE BUCK –

County road crews are back at work on the mid-section of County Road 41, after rain and floods caused work to come to a complete halt for several months. The project began last fall; however, after December’s floods, the project was stopped as County Judge Brandon Ellison realized the floodwaters had a damaging impact to some of the work that was already completed. “We had that road ready to surface and the Christmas flood showed us that even after resurfacing, a flood of that magnitude could further undermine the surface and cause permanent damage,” Ellison explained.

To keep that from occurring, they are doing flood mitigation work. “Since we are going to hard surface the road, we are hardening the edges of the road and the ditches. We are taking steps to prevent damage in the future,” said Ellison.

He also explained that due to the damage sustained in December, it may qualify for FEMA assistance. FEMA may cover the cost of the repairs and also may furnish a portion of the mitigation work being done as well.

The flood mitigation work is estimated to be completed in approximately two weeks. Ellison said he hopes to start hard-surfacing the road by the end of April, weather permitting.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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