More than $1M price tag to repair DeKalb County roads damaged by flooding

DEKALB COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - DeKalb County engineers are prioritizing a plan to repair the roads damaged by recent flooding.

Old Highway 35 is probably the most damaged road in DeKalb County from the flooding but it’s not on the top of the list to get repaired.

County engineer Ben Luther says Tutwiler Gap and Wade Gap roads are on the top of the list to get repaired after recent flooding.

Luther says there are concerns about Highway 117 which could cause huge problems for motorists if that road were to be closed.

The floods damaged the roads causing the road base to erode and that prompting cracks and sinking in the road.

In all, Luther anticipates upwards of a million and a half dollars in damages to county roads.

Luther says the road with the most damage was Old Highway 35. Not only with cracking and sinking but damage to gas and water lines. Damage there is causing residents to have a little extra patience.

“Yes, I used it everyday before it was closed. That’s my way to Fort Payne but now I have to go up to the top of the mountain and back around,” said Roger Venable, a DeKalb County resident.

Luther says they’ll be meeting on Monday to begin sorting all of this out.

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