Boone County News Release

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Boone County Begins Flood-Related Road Repairs

May 7, 2009

Facilities Maintenance and Public Works Repair Damaged Roads and Trails

Boone County Public Works and Facilities Maintenance departments have started doing repairs on areas that were damaged in last week's heavy rains and flash floods.

Construction crews started replacing base rock and trail surface on the 4 ½ miles of road that the county owns at MKT Fitness and Nature Trail. The major damage spans from the Scott Boulevard access to Perche Creek Bridge. Facilities Maintenance Manager Bob Davidson said the estimated cost of repairs is $33,000 which the Commission has approved to be taken out of the county's emergency fund. Davidson said the repairs should be done by the end of the week but cannot make any guarantees.

"Weather is always the dependent factor in how long it takes," he said.

Public Works Maintenance Operations Manager Chip Estabrooks said that the majority of flood damage to county roads is in the northeast quadrant of the county and work is being done on gravel roads and bridge approaches.

"We have gone through the roads and tried to make sure the roadways are open and emergency vehicles have access," Estabrooks said. "Now we have to go back and make additional repairs on culverts and drains that were damaged."

Estabrooks said the repairs should not make a large impact on citizens.

"If we have to close a road to make repairs it will not be closed for over a day,” he said. “We usually close roads at 8:30 a.m. and have them reopened before we go home that day."

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