Barry makes presence known with flooding, traffic congestion

By Staff, 07/16/19 1:40 PM

PRESCOTT – Hurricane Barry, or its remnants, made its presence known in Prescott and Nevada County.

Rains from the storm Monday night resulted in flooding in the north end of the county. Highway 67 was closed, as was portions of Interstate-30. The results of the road closings made getting around in Prescott nearly impossible.

Nevada County Judge Mark Glass closed the Nevada County Courthouse at noon, while Prescott Mayor Terry Oliver instituted the city’s inclement weather policy for those living outside of town.

Glass said the rain hit worst from Laneburg north, while the southern part of the county hardly got any rain at all. However, the rain that did fall, he said, has caused problems. “I don’t know how many roads we barricaded,” he said, “but we ran out of barricades and had to borrow some from Centurylink.”

Glass said he has no idea the extent of the damage done by the storm, but the work county road crews have done has all been washed away by this one.

A section of Hay. 371 was closed to traffic because it washed away. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD), barricaded the roads, with signs warning of high water.

Traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see on Hwy. 67 toward Hope and Gurdon, while also being backed up past Gene Hales house past the Hwy. 371 intersection.

Oliver said water was over Olive St. in three places early this morning, but Prescott got lucky as the city’s been working to clear debris from culverts. He said Prescott received 7.8 inches of rain in four hours, and the total could reach as much as 13 inches by the end of the day.

According to the Hope Police Department, due to localized flooding, effective at 11:20 A.M. the Arkansas Department of Transportation has closed Interstate 30 East at the 30 mile marker and U.S. Highway 67 between Hope and Prescott. All northbound traffic is being detoured to Highway 278 East to Camden at this time. Shortly after noon, the AHTD stated the water had receded enough and these roads were opened.

Hempstead County, Nevada County, Howard County, and Pike County all have significant flooding and many road closures. Please travel only if absolutely necessary and do not drive through flooded areas.