Flooding's effect on infrastructure

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By Steven Martens | Sunday, June 22, 2008 |

Here’s a county-by-county glance at major flood damage to roads and bridges.

Cedar County

While gravel roads in Cedar County that were closed by flooding are now open, two of the county’s bridges may remain closed for several months, Cedar County Supervisor Dennis Boedeker said. The approaches to Rochester Bridge and the west approach to Cedar Bluff Bridge suffered major damage, and it could be months before a contractor can be found to do the work because those contractors are in high demand.

Clinton County

About 25 spots in Clinton County, mostly gravel roads along the Wapsipinicon River, were damaged, and work already has begun in some areas, Clinton County Engineer Todd Kinney said. The flooding tore a hole in a paved road, 180th Street northeast of Toronto, that will require time-consuming and costly repairs, although federal funds may be available.

Jackson County

The county tallied about $45,000 in damage to roads. Jackson County Engineer Clark Schloz said some roads still underwater have not been assessed. Erosion along the Maquoketa River is getting close to the road right-of-way near 212th Avenue and 91st Street, and grant funds may be available to fix it.

Louisa County

Louisa County Engineer Larry Roehl said several county roads are still underwater from the Cedar River and bridges near Wapello and Oakville need to be assessed after the river goes down. Rock has been washed away from shoulders of some paved county roads, but the roads can’t be assessed until water goes down. Iowa 70 and 92 near Columbus Junction and U.S. 61 between Grandview and Wapello will be closed for at least a few weeks.

Muscatine County

U.S. 6 between Wilton and Atalissa will be closed for a few weeks, and County Road S-70 sustained major damage and may not be reopen until fall, depending on funds and availability of contractors to do the work, Assistant Muscatine County Engineer Dennis Michael said. Iowa 22 also is closed from Nichols to Muscatine until repairs can be made. Mississippi River bridges in the area are not damaged as far as he knows, and it is too early to assess damage to the gravel roads because many are still underwater.

Scott County

The county’s flood-fighting and infrastructure costs are estimated at $354,000, County Administrator Ray Wierson said. That will be in addition to damage reported by the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf.

Mercer County

About 20 sites in Mercer County, mostly in the northern and western areas of the county, need repair, County Engineer Dewayne Fender said. Heavy spring rains damaged box culverts.

Rock Island County

About two miles of Illinois 92 near Andalusia, Ill., were still underwater, making it difficult to assess damage to the road, Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey said. It will be a few days before county officials are able to assess the damage to gravel roads, County Board Chairman Jim Bohnsack said.

Henry and Whiteside counties

No significant damage reported from floods.