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County 34 now has more barricades
Jersey barriers keep cars from washout
Published Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Freeborn County is moving forward with repairs to the Freeborn County Road 34 washout, according to County Engineer Sue Miller, with the possibility of the road rebuilt as early as September.
Storms June 11 and 12 caused damage way below the culvert underneath County Road 34 resulting in complete failure, Miller said. The floods created a washout 30 feet wide, which has since resulted in three deaths and multiple injuries.
“Because there was additional tampering with the barricades last weekend, the county will be installing a jersey barrier wall this morning as a secondary, extraordinary protective measure,” Miller said Tuesday.
She and ditch inspector Phil Tennis updated the Board of Commissioners Tuesday with information about flood damage repair efforts.
County Road 34 repairs
The Highway Department, Miller said, applied for Minnesota Department of Transportation funding to assist with the $575,000 worth of repairs needed to County Road 34. The road repair is not eligible for FEMA funds.
MnDOT will participate in the repairs through bridge bonding money, according to Miller, from the Office of State Aid. She said the county could get $450,000 for the entire project, which includes work on a township road down stream.
Miller said work can begin on the project as early as Aug. 15 and must be completed no later than Sept. 15. She said the county has 25 working days to complete the County Road 34 project. A project like this, she said, usually takes 18 to 24 months in preliminary design analysis.
Sue Miller
Steve Penkeva of Jones, Haugh & Smith performed hydrologic and hydraulic analysis to recommend appropriate repairs, Miller said.
The existing corrugated metal pipe arch culvert is 11 feet by 7 feet. Due to the location of a culvert down stream underneath gravel 185th Street in Oakland Township, which may not support increased flows, it is recommended that two 6-foot corrugated metal pipes and a double line of 10 1/2 feet by 6 1/2 feet reinforced-concrete pipe arch culverts replace the existing system.
Miller said this would allow for a 10-year storm event and not overload the bridge and culvert down stream.
The project will be open for bids Aug. 4 with awarding Aug. 5 and the possibility of starting construction 10 days later.
In 2004, floodwaters caused damage to the pavement surface along County Road 34 at the same culvert location as the current washout. Miller said the damage was not to the drainage structure itself. Repairs were completed with FEMA assistance to bring the road to pre-existing conditions, per the policy of the assistance.
Ditch damage
More than $100,000 worth of damage was done to the ditch system within Freeborn County by the June 11 and 12 floods, according to drainage inspector Phil Tennis.
He documented repairs needing $92,000, but he said he expects all projects to bring the total up over $100,000. Tennis said 21 projects within the ditch system need work and five are waiting for damage estimates.
“In the next six months we may get some more,” Tennis said. “We know it’s easily going to go over $100,000.”
Work on the ditch system includes all types of repair, he said, with a large part due to washouts and debris removal.
The ditch requiring the most work is ditch J-20, which has $70,000 of damage. The floods in early June created a washout 135 feet long, 30 feet wide and 6 feet deep in ditch J-20.
Video
The Freeborn County Highway Department placed jersey barriers to block automobile access to the washout on Freeborn County 34. The jersey barriers are in addition to road blocks already at the site. Watch »
“Most of our ditches handled it pretty well, but there are some areas that had so much rain in such a short time” they couldn’t handle the water, the ditch inspector said.
The area hardest hit is the southeast corner of Freeborn County. Ditches 71, 75 and 17 were also hit hard by the floods.
Waters washed debris — consisting of soil, crops and other plants — into the culverts, plugging the drainage system and causing flooding in adjacent fields, Tennis said.
He took pictures of all damage for FEMA records, he said. A FEMA official will tour the county with Tennis next week.
Townships and landowners have up to six months to report damage to the county to be considered for FEMA funds.
Tennis said grass strips in place were effective in filtering and slowing the flood waters.
In other business, the county board:
- Approved the first half of 2008 tax abatements. There were 30 abatements total, 12 of which were labeled as “should be homestead” and eight were abate assessments. There were 10 miscellaneous classification or requirement changes.
- Approved 19 tax-forfeited pieces of land for a sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 6. Each parcel of land has been given a market value price and terms of sale. Prices range from $50 to $15,000.
- Approved an extension for the Public Health Department Preparedness grant to continue spending the funds through September. The current grant expires Aug. 9.
- Accepted an award from the Minnesota Counties Computer Cooperative, given at the Community Health Services User Group meeting on June 27, in appreciation of 25 years of commitment to electronic data collection and client documentation in the Public Health Department.
- Approved repair and replacement of a bridge on Central Avenue in Hollandale. The storm sewer, curb and gutter along County Road 28 are part of the project and will use $200,000 remaining from 2004 bonding money for flood mitigation in the Hollandale area. Work will be done on the bridge approach grading. The project was open for bids Monday.
- Approved amendments to the bylaws of the South Country Health Alliance joint-powers agreement.
Two-thirds of the 14 member counties must have an approval from individual county boards to allow a capital decision to be made. The joint-powers board no longer has sole authority, based on the Freeborn County approved amendment.
Comments
Posted by mommy07 (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
IT TOOK 3 PEOPLE TO DIE ON THIS ROAD BEFORE ANYTHING WAS DONE!! THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED AFTER THE FIRST ACCIDENT THAT CLAIMED THE LIFE OF MR WANGEN...BUT NO IT WASNT AND IT TOOK THE LIFE OF A MOTHER OR 3 AND A MAN WHO WAS WELL LIKED !! I THINK THAT THE DRIVER OF THE AVALANCE SHOULDNT GET ANY CHARGES AGAINST HIM BECAUSE THIS SHOULDNT BE A LONG DRAWN OUT REPAIR IT SHOULD VE BEEN GETTING FIXED RIGHT AWAY!! ALSO I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL ROADS THAT ARE BEING WORKED ON THAT ARE TOTALLY GONE THAT HAVE THE ROAD CLOSE SIGNS THAT ARENT EVEN UP OR BLOCKING THE ROAD.. MY FAMILY AND I ALMOST DROVE ON A COMPLETELY GONE ROAD IN THE GLENVILLE/MYRTLE AREA A COUPLE WEEKS AGO CAUSE THERE WAS NO SIGN!! THANK GOD WE SEEN THAT THE ROAD WASNT THERE BUT IT WAS DARK AND THERE WAS NO FLASHING LIGHTS NO NOTHING!! SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE A LITTLE MORE IF THE ROADS ARE GONE!!!!!!!! OR THERE WILL BE MORE DEATHS!!!
Posted by wingo (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said, mommy07. I agree, the worst should be fixed first! That is usually what it takes to get things done, people dying. Doesn't say much for our society.
Posted by albertleab (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MOMMY07 ..... HOW MANY ROAD CLOSED, oh sorry I forgot one does not have to type in ALL CAPS, how many road closed signs does it take to keep people from going around the signs, then we demand fixes and then follow up with lawsuits and then with complaints on how high our taxes are! ROAD CLOSED = STAY OUT
Posted by mommy07 (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 12:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok well when the signs are moved to the side of the road one would think the road was closed while they were working on it and when they are moved it means OPEN!!! i see it in town quite often!!! and did you not read the paragraph "Because there was additional tampering with the barricades last weekend, the county will be installing a jersey barrier wall this morning as a secondary, extraordinary protective measure,” Miller said Tuesday.
Obvisouly there are little jerks going around moving these people with no hearts or cares to what may happen!! These signs get put up to close roads i understand but the road my cousin Kelly Abrego was on had a sign but it was moved they figured the road was open..as did I when we were in the Glenville Myrtle area a couple weekends ago!! They need flashers on those to prevent this from happening or using concrete barriers!! I type in caps to so my emotions thanks for noticing!! :)
Posted by hipocryt (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh so sorry Mommy. Take your crying and grief someplace else. You won't see much mercy here.
I hope MADD gets involved to force CRIMINAL Charges against the driver for Manslaughter.
The Sheriff is sure taking his time.
You must drive way too fast for conditions at night time if you miss the signs and you must not read the paper, watch TV News or listen to Radio news to NOT KNOW the Roads were closed and to SLOW DOWN.
Posted by mommy07 (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I AM NOT LOOKING FOR ANYTHING I AM JUST SAYING PEOPLE MOVE THE SIGNS TO BE FUNNY OR PLAY A JOKE OR SOMETIMES WHEN THEY ARE WORKING ON THE ROADS THEY FORGET TO MOVE THEM BACK!!! NO I DONT DRIVE TO FAST IT WAS ON GRAVEL AT NIGHT IN A PLACE I RARELY DRIVE WITH MY DAUGHTER IN MY CAR SO NO I WASNT SO DONT ASSUME SH*T YOU DONT KNOW!!
Posted by wingo (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
hypocryt -- There you go again, ASSUMING!!! You don't know if these victims moved the barricade or someone else did. It has happened where people have moved them and others were injured or killed. I guess it's not innocent until proven quilty in some peoples eyes. You must remember something else, (I'm not casting stones) the passengers chose to ride with the driver. I am from Albert Lea and I did not know for sure what rode this was, when they said that Mr. Wangen was from Oakland I thought the rode was closer to that town. The fact remains that some people are "perfect" and have never made a "mistake", to bad we aren't all without fault. My heart still goes out to all that were involved in this unfortunate accident. May God continue to comfort you all.
Posted by kma1963 (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Plain and simple.... the road was closed; not everyone listens to tv or radio news or reads the paper; the road was NOT marked well enough to protect the public from harm... considering the level of danger it possesed. At the very least... there should have been plenty of barriers with flashing lights! Maybe a sign: DANGER! DO NOT ENTER! ROAD AHEAD IS WASHED OUT! 30FT HOLE IN ROAD!! Not only just before the hole... but 1-2 miles before the danger area... We should always consider what could happen- what did happen and what should have NEVER happened! Just a little more safety procedures could have saved a few lives. That's my opinion. As for the "hipocryt"-- THINK BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR PIE HOLE! Everyone involved is already paying dearly in one way or another.
Posted by chip (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 5:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i am sorry to everyone involved for having people who don't even know you talk to you the way they do. people are so rude
Posted by mnbluejay (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As someone who lives out by Myrtle and saw the barricades that were up. They went accross the whole road, ditch to ditch, and they had orange snow fence weaved in them. Unless someone moved every single one of them off the road, I would think that it would catch your attention! I am sorry for the families of any involved in either accident, however, I notice that everyone is very quick to blame the county. How about taking some personal responsibility for your actions. The first night was truely an accident, there was no way for them to know that the road was washed out. The second accident has left a lot of questions unanswered at this time. It is hard to put blame on anyone until we know the whole story. Could the county have done more, probably. However, the driver and occupants of the second accident should take some of the blame.
Posted by albertleab (anonymous) on July 16, 2008 at 10:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Right on MNBLUEJAY. Let's make new signs that say "THIS ROAD IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY CLOSED" Like I have stated before, I have spent my life closing roads, putting up barricades and cones. There is NOTHING that is fool proof. And the liability of solid cement or sand filled barricades in tremendous as some knucklehead will hit them, sue the county and open the cash register.
I recently went to buy "No Jake braking" signs and was told by my supplier that the company was sued as this was offensive to those named Jake, so now they say "No engine braking". I also once put a "Dead End" sign on a road next to, but not leading to a cemetery. I was chewed out by a "taxpayer" who was offended that I had no regard for the dead and I had to change the sign to a "No Outlet" sign at the cost of $49 plus change out time. I feel for those who died, but let's put some responsibility back where it belongs. Personal responsibility and getting rid of lawyers and everything would be so cheap, we wouldn't bat an eye at $4 gas.
Posted by kellid (anonymous) on July 17, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't understand why people have to accuse, blame and assume and when things haven't been fully researched and some of the information hasn't even been released! A lot has been in the news that is contradicting so how can you make a judgement? One of the stories said they drove around the barricade YET they turned around and said it was moved. How can you go around a moved barricade? You wouldn't go around it if it was moved. Another story said there were no skid marks yet I was out there after it happened and saw skid marks.... people have moved barricades in the past as a "joke" who knows... it might have happened in this case. To top it off, there is a rumor of him trying to jump the hole because he did it before... again, I was out there and there is NO WAY he would have ever jumped the hole so obviously that rumor is made up. If he did try in the past he would have crashed.
People need to think about what if this is totally an innocent case where someone actually did move it or forgot to put it back. People are innocent until proven guilty in this world... If you bash the driver and find out later that someone did move it, how would you feel then? You would have bashed an innocent person!
And in regards to the drinking...the article did not say he was drinking... it said it is manditory to do a blood test for drinking. So regardless if you do drink or not, they run the test. Shouldn't assume the driver was when we don't know!
So many are so quick to judge... are you going to tell me you never drove after drinking, drove when you are very tired (same thing as being drunk), was speeding... have you never broken a law? Let the one without sin cast the first stone!
Posted by albertleab (anonymous) on July 20, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't be so sure the rumors are made up, I have heard from some pretty reliable sources as to what happened and it sounds like there were many bad choices made that fateful night. Why did the responder go in ??????
Posted by kellid (anonymous) on July 22, 2008 at 10:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW.... I just heard on channel 3 that people are STILL moving the barracades! Shows you it at least is a possibility for this last accident! Come on whomever is moving the barricades... we don't want another accident! STOP MOVING THEM!
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