STYX RIVER — Residents in the Flat Creek area of Styx River were left stranded again Thursday night, Dec. 9 after flooding washed out River Road.
The stretch of road, estimated at about 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep, located northeast of the Styx River bridge on County Road 68, was washed out for several days following heavy rains from Hurricane Ida in August and it could be several days before the road is passable again, residents say.
“This happens every time it rains,” said resident Mike Weekley, who was surveying the damage on Friday with his son Mike Jr., daughter-in-law Connie and grandson Evan. “The county comes and fills it in and tells us they are going to fix the road permanently, but it never happens. We’re always the ‘next on the list,’ but they’ve been saying that for 17 years.”
At 11:34 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service in Mobile issued a flash flood warning for Central Baldwin County and Escambia County in Florida.
“Between 3 and 5 inches of rain have fallen,” according to the warning. “The rainfall rate is 2 to 3 inches in 1 hour. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible in the warned area.”
Several flood warnings for the Styx River area have been issued, beginning at 6:23 a.m. Friday morning and flooding was expected to continue through the day on Saturday.
According to county officials, River Road sits at a convergence of Reedy Creek and Flat Creek off of the main river. High waters cause a portion of the road to wash away.
“The culvert is just too small and floods every time it rains,” Weekley said. “The County Highway Department came out and looked at it and put signs up warning people that the road was closed. There’s just not much they can do until the creek comes down.”
The Baldwin County Highway Department issued a travel advisory on Friday saying that the road would be closed until at least 5 p.m. Monday.
Eighteen families live on the north side of the creek and were left stranded by the washout, Weekley said.
In September, County Engineer Joey Nunnally said a more permanent fix would require moving the road to the east and putting in a bridge over the creek.
