Jefferson County roads close due to flooding

2 years ago 489

Published at 4:04 pm, April 11, 2023 | Updated at 4:21 pm, April 11, 2023

2600 East area in Jefferson County. | Courtesy Jefferson County Emergency Management

ROBERTS — Three roads in Jefferson County have been closed down due to flooding and people are being asked to use extreme caution.

Jefferson County posted on social media that the following roads are currently closed near the Roberts area:

200 North from 2100 East to 2300 East 2600 East from County Line to 200 North 2400 East between 200 North and 400 North

There are pictures posted online on the Jefferson County Emergency Management website showing the roads and what they look like.

“In most cases, there is culverts in place but in some places, there is too much water for the culverts and that water flows over the roads and erodes the roads and makes the roads impassable,” said Rebecca Squires, emergency manager for Jefferson County.

On Monday, the National Weather Service in Pocatello issued an official flood warning for the Rigby area. NWS said as temperatures rise to the mid- to high-60s and even 70s in some areas, eastern Idaho will start to see flooding as much of the ground underneath is still frozen.

A picture Squires sent EastIdahoNews.com shows a small waterfall that used to be the road near 2400 East. She said on Monday morning, cars could drive there because there wasn’t a waterfall, but now it’s completely different and impossible to drive there.

2400 East area in Jefferson County. | Courtesy Jefferson County Emergency Management

“Most of the roads are gravel and so as the water flows across the road, it’s like a waterfall really. The erosion starts on the downstream edge and the road surfaces just wash away until it becomes a waterfall,” Squires explained. “That is why when the water is muddy and you can’t see that road surface, it’s really not a good idea to drive through it or over it because you don’t really know if there is a road there anymore.”

Squires says right now, some areas have half an inch or less of water, and other areas have four or five inches or more.

In 2017, Jefferson County closed a number of rural roads due to excessive flooding after water reached levels that were unsafe to drive through and affected residential properties.

“We are definitely melting slower than we did in 2017,” Squires said. “2017 was caused by a rain-on-snow event, and this (right now) is just high temperatures with snow.”

She doesn’t anticipate damage to be as severe as in 2017; however, she said she wouldn’t be able to fully assess damage until water has drained off of the roads.

“The biggest thing the public can take away is … if there is water crossing the road, just don’t drive into it. You never know how hard that water is flowing,” she said.

Jefferson County residents are encouraged to enroll in Jefferson County’s AlertSense program and follow Jefferson County on Facebook.