County engineer provides updates for repairing flood-damaged roads

As road closures and landslides continue to wreak havoc on Warren County’s roads and drivers, County Engineer Keith O’Keefe reported this morning that road damage assessments are going as expected.

“We have now reviewed all 73 sites,” O’Keefe said at the regular Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday. “We looked at the first 29 in two or three days, and those were the most severe. We did some cost-estimates for (Warren County Emergency Management Director) John Elfer’s group so they could file some documentation with FEMA.”

O’Keefe’s goal now is to review the sites in more detail and start quantity development to help with cost estimates. 

“We are using some drones to do that,” he said. “Some of these sites are 60, 80 to 100-feet deep. It allows us to get a drone down low without having to put a man down the slippery slopes if you will.”

Not only is using drones safer, they are quicker and make the process more efficient. Drone surveillance started last week and will continue throughout this week, O’Keefe said. 

“By the end of the week, we should have a better handle on overall cost,” he said. 

Also this week, O’Keefe plans to sit down with County Road Manager Larry Flowers to see what work his team can begin immediately, mostly where roads have minor damage. 

O’Keefe has set a goal of two weeks to report back to the Board of Supervisors to provide cost estimates and prioritize the road repairs.