Creek Road near Wildwood, Ga., in northern Dade County is down to one lane after heavy rain on May 19 washed out part of the road along Lookout Creek. Eight Dade County roads were damaged in the rain, and the state of Georgia is giving the county $200,000 to use toward the estimated $1 million worth of damages.ROADS TO BE FIXED
Dade County, Ga., roads that were washed out or need culvert and tile repair after torrential May 19 rains:• Murphy Hollow Road from Hale Gap Road to the Tennessee state line• Creek Road between Piney and Sarah Chapel roads• Sarah Chapel Road from U.S. Highway 11 to Pope Creek Road• Saddle Club Road from SR 301 looping back to SR 301• Slygo Ridge Road from Slygo Road to U.S. Highway 11• Casey Road between Wells to Saddle Club roads• Tram Road between New Home and Ballard roads• Nickajack Road from the Tennessee state line to where Nickajack dead-endsSource: Georgia Department of Transportation
Dade County Executive Ted RumleyWorkers in Dade County, Ga., still are fixing roads that were washed out or otherwise damaged May 19 by an epic downpour.
"We had 5, 6 inches of rain in 30 minutes, 45 minutes," county board Chairman Ted Rumley said. "I never remember this happening. It was just weird. [The storm] just stopped over the north end of the county."
Some relief came Monday in the form of a $200,000 check from the Georgia Department of Transportation to help repair washed-out pavement, culverts and tiles on eight Dade County roads damaged by the flooding, including hard-hit Sarah Chapel, Creek and Murphy Hollow roads.
The state funding will help the county fix what Rumley said was about $1 million worth of damage.
"They really helped us out a lot," Rumley said.
Georgia Department of Transportation Local Grants Administrator Terry Gable said the money came from the state motor fuel tax.
"When we have some money in reserve, which we do right now, it's there for emergencies," Gable said.
Three other Georgia counties -- Hall, Dawson and Johnson -- also got $200,000 each in state motor fuel tax funding to help fix storm-damaged roads, Gable said.
Dade County crews started fixing roads right after the storm struck, Rumley said, and crews are still working.
"Some of [the roads] are main arteries," he said. "We started working on it the next day."
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6651.