STYX RIVER, Alabama — Officials with the Baldwin County Highway Department said River Road in Styx River were expecting the road to be passable by the end of the day Wednesday, Sept. 1 after heavy rains from Hurricane Ida knocked out a portion of the road.
Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour along the Louisiana coast and continued to dump rain all along the Gulf Coast through Tuesday.
Flooding in Baldwin County on Monday knocked out a wide stretch of River Road, which is located northeast of the Styx River bridge on County Road 68.
As the storm churned up through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, flood warnings were issued along Styx River, which crested at 15.2 feet, more than three feet above the river’s flood stage of 12 feet, by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. The river was expected to fall below flood stage by Wednesday evening, Sept. 1.
According to county officials, River Road sits at a convergence of Reedy Creek and Flat Creek off of the main river. High waters on Monday flooded a seven-foot culvert causing a portion of the road to wash away.
According to reports, as many as 18 families living on the north side of the creeks were left virtually stranded by the washout.
Officials with the Baldwin County Highway Department, Ryland’s Underground Service and the East Central Baldwin County Water Authority were on site Wednesday, working to make the road passable and restore water service to residents.
“We know there are families up here and we are trying to get the road back as fast as we can,” said County Engineer Joey Nunnally, stating that the road should be passable by the end of the day Wednesday.
A more permanent fix would require moving the road to the east and putting in a bridge over the creek.
“Where we are here is in a floodway and every time we get a lot of rain there is a potential for this to happen,” Nunnally said. “We are just asking residents to be patient. A more permanent fix is going to take time and money and that’s something the County Commission is going to have to put on the schedule.”
Residents who gathered along the north side of the road are hoping the more permanent fix will come.
“If you ask them this is always next on the list,” said one resident. “But they just put in a temporary fix and forget about us. We’re just fed up with it.”
