ALEXANDER COUNTY (WSIL) � As the floodwaters start to recede, Alexander County EMA Director Mike Turner estimates just repairing the roadways damaged from the flood will cost millions of dollars.
Pictures of Miller City Road show the street crumbling and covered in debris with pavement chipping off the top. Turner says the the damage is more severe due to a breach in Len Small levee in 2016.Â
"It’s completely torn apart and a lot of that is due to the amount of current running across that road," he explains. "With the breach in Len Small levee, it’s not just water over the road, there’s heavy current that came through with that water."
Once floodwaters recede, Turner believes other roadways will look the same.Â
"Promise Land Road they know that washed away due to the current," he says. "There are other county roads in that area there. There are other county roads in the northern end of the county."Â
Jason Tubbs, an East Cape Girardeau village leader, says they’re still battling floodwaters with Air National Guard and National Guard members reinforcing sand bag levees. But, he’s already thinking ahead to recovery efforts like fixing damaged roads.Â
"Where does the resources come from to help us get rid of the sandbags, to repair our infrastructure, our roads?" he asks.Â
Tubbs is also worried about how other infrastructure in the village has been impacted since the seep water has been covering the area for such a long period of time.
"We’re going to have water lines and sewer damage when all this water recedes. That’s going to put more pressure on things," he says.Â
Tubbs is estimating that it will take at least two years for the village to complete flood water damage repairs, but says that prediction is optimistic.
