Roads close as rains wash out culverts in Harrison County

HARRISON COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - Harrison County has shut down two county roads because of washed out culverts. One in East Harrison County near Hallsville on West Noonday Road, and the other near Waskom on Strickland Springs Road. And, some of the repairs can’t be done while it’s raining.

Although Harrison County Road and Bridge Administrator Luke Davis says there were about 40 road closures in the last couple days, nearly all have been cleared and reopened. But at least two will take more work to fix.

“Noonday Road West, it’s over between Hallsville and Longview. It is completely shut down. We had a big cross pipe that water just totally washed the whole pipe away. It had cut the road in two. And then we have Strickland Springs Road South. It’s in the Waskom, Elysian Fields area and the same thing happened there,” Davis said.

Standing water is easy to spot in Harrison County.

“We had eight inches in some areas of the county. And so, the crews were out day and night. We’re still out there right now being sure that roads are safe for the public,” Davis said.

Most of the water has drained from roads but it wouldn’t take much to bring it back.

“It might stop raining maybe five minutes and then it goes back to raining but we are fixing everything we can fix right now,” Davis said.

And they are preparing for the heavy work.

“We’re putting all our equipment in place so that as soon as we get a break from this rain we’ll have all our major pieces of equipment exactly where we need them so we can get the job done,” Davis said.

Davis says there has been a problem with drivers going around barricades or even moving them to get past. He says a couple people had to be rescued by the sheriff’s office after stalling out in high water. He asks to leave the barricades in place and find a different route.

Davis says they have the replacement culverts at the washouts and the roads should be opened a couple days after the rain stops.

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