Repairs can’t happen until January

By By Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
It will be after the new year before several of the roads damaged by water last week will be repaired.
Rice Road and Celia Drive were both damaged in the Dec. 8 storms but, due to the size of the culverts needed on both roads, won’t be completely repaired until January. Weather officials said more than 7 inches of rain deluged the city that night, prompting flooding throughout the city.
City officials said the supplier doesn’t have the pipes in stock to do the repairs immediately.
Mayor Dwight Tankersley said once the pipes are available, the work on the roads will be done by city workers.
Celia Drive’s culvert was damaged but the road is open. Rice Road, sliced by a deep gash, is closed and will remain so until repairs are complete.
An unnamed road off Westwood Lane and one lane of Penn Road were also damaged by the high waters. Both are able to be repaired by the city. Stage Road was also damaged but has already been repaired.
While the work begins, Tankersley said the city continues to look for ways to fund the repairs, which could top $1 million. Tankersley met with officials from Morgan County Emergency Management Agency this week to see if there are federal funds available.
That doesn’t look promising, however.
The city is also looking at disaster mitigation grants. These grants would help fund projects that could prevent flooding in the future.
In the meantime, the city is trying to assist business owners struggling with storm clean-up. Tankersley said business owners cleaning up from the storm can use the city’s landfill at no charge.