WASHINGTON CO. ROAD & BRIDGE APPLAUDED FOR SPEEDY WORK IN RE-OPENING ROADS AFTER HURRICANE BERYL

  

Washington County Commissioners offered a tip of the hat today (Tuesday) to the county’s road and bridge crews for their quick work on Monday in getting roads open following the numerous closures caused by Hurricane Beryl.

County Engineer Wesley Stolz said workers responded to 87 road closures throughout the day, and all of the reported closures were cleared and back open the same day, the vast majority of them by 6 p.m.  Stolz said there was quite a bit of damage to address, but all things considered, employees did an “exceptional” job.

Stolz said they were very fortunate with the timing, as all road and bridge employees were present and accounted for to dispatch across the county before the winds truly began to pick up. 

According to Stolz, there were 36 road closures in Precinct 1, 25 in Precinct 2, 14 in Precinct 3 and 12 in Precinct 4.  He noted that a few more reports came in this morning and they are still working on any more that pop up. 

The court and the audience applauded the crews for their work, with County Judge John Durrenberger calling it a remarkable effort.

Commissioner Don Koester also thanked the county’s fire departments for their assistance, while Commissioner Kirk Hanath gave thanks to the constituents who stepped in to help with the road and bridge employees’ workload.  Stolz said it was “an all-around good community effort.”

Commissioner Candice Bullock asked Stolz what the plan is moving forward, since road and bridge was already falling behind on road paving with the previous storm events prior to Monday’s.  Stolz replied that they are getting back onto their paving schedule, but they will need to look into doing contract work to assist with storm cleanup and debris removal.  He said he has been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Texas Division of Emergency Management for grant and reimbursement opportunities to help with the storm damage costs.