On Monday crews from the Lawrence County Road Department began construction on the Lawrence 203 bridge just outside Imboden, this is the first of two low-water bridge projects the county plans on completing by March 1st. Lawrence County Judge Dale Freeman, Quorum Court JP Jim Jones, Road Department Supervisor David Slagley and property owner Rick Benson were on hand as crews began demolition of the old low-water crossing. Two 6 foot culverts will replace the crossing in an effort to move more water during inclement weather and prevent low lying flooding in the area.
The Lawrence 203 project and Lawrence 267 project are both being funded by grants acquired through the Office of Emergency Management. Judge Dale Freeman stated that he intends to work with the Lawrence County OES and apply for more grants like these in the future. The Judge stated he would like to have at least two of these projects per year to improve areas that the Lawrence County Road Department are having to repair each time flash flooding in the county occurs.
Award letters from the Arkansas Department Of Emergency were received by the Lawrence County Office of Emergency Management on August 14th, the letters were in reference to two grant applications applied for by the Lawrence County OEM.
The local OEM office applied for two grant projects that will replace low water crossings located on Lawrence 267 in Smithville and Lawrence 203 in Imboden. Both low water crossings flood during heavy rains and trap residents for hours and sometimes days. The two projects total over $99,000.00 and must be completed by March 1st 2016 according to the grants.
Judge Dale Freeman stated he intends to have the Lawrence County Office of Emergency Management apply for these mitigation grants for future projects around Lawrence County as funding by the state becomes available.
For more information on the Lawrence County Office of Emergency Management visit www.lawrencecountyarkansas.com .
