Brooke crews dealing with slips, erosion
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While Brooke County residents were spared from flooding by the Ohio River last weekend, some areas experienced major damage from flooding along creeks and runoff from hillsides.
On Thursday Bob Fowler, Brooke County director of emergency management, on Thursday gave FEMA officials a tour of areas affected by the weather and discussed costs born by first responders.
Fowler said he hopes a federal declaration of emergency will be issued for the state for both weekends so the county will be eligible for financial assistance from FEMA.
He noted Gov. Jim Justice already declared a state of emergency for the weekend of Feb. 17.
Fowler said input was sought from officials from throughout the county, while representatives of the state Division of Highways met separately with FEMA officials to discuss damages said to have exceeded $1 million.
He noted several areas of state Route 67 and secondary roads in the Wellsburg-Bethany area were damaged by flash floods.
This week, crews with Keith Yost Excavating and the Follansbee water department have been working to address a slip beneath Upper Walnut Street that damaged the road and a water line beneath it.
The street is high on the hillside overlooking the city from its east side.
City Manager John DeStefano said heavy runoff from the hill caused the yard below the street to shift, and crews have created shelves behind one home to alleviate that.
He added crews also will be repairing an existing drain and installing two others to carry away the runoff and digging a trench along the hillside to collect water and debris.
Some residents were without water or gas for a few days while repairs were made to utility lines.
Dave Scheetz, a resident of the street, said he grew up in his home and he or other family members have lived there since.
He said water often has entered the basement “but it’s getting worse, putting holes in my foundation.”
Slips along the hillside overlooking the city have been a recurring problem.
In 2005 crews funded by FEMA installed steel piling and concrete to support an eroding section of Lower Walnut Street, a separate street also on the hillside.
But further erosion has occurred at the street’s south end. While the city was able to secure a $25,000 grant for that area, it lacked funds for the project’s total estimated cost of $420,000, DeStefano said.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)