Roads damaged, two closed

Several Pike County roads have been impacted by recent downpours and severe weather. Milner and Wood Creek roads were completely washed out and will be closed for weeks.The culverts under the roads were washed away by flash flooding and will have to be replaced before they can be repaved and opened for use.The road closings are an inconvenience for many residents of those roads but there are other routes available to access their homes and properties. According to public works director Todd Goolsby, there are around 25 houses on Milner Road and around 60 houses on Wood Creek Road.’Those roads are going to be closed for a few weeks,’ he said. ‘We should have them open within the next couple of weeks if the rain will let up. For Wood Creek Road, it’s going to cost around $8,000 for the culvert pipe and around $15,000 to $20,000 total to get it open. For Milner Road, it’s going to cost around $8,000 to get that road fixed and open again.’Goolsby said the county will apply for Georgia LMIG funding and the county could be reimbursed for 30% of the costs to fix the damaged roads. Milner Road is between Bottoms Road and Turner Road near Concord and Wood Creek Road is between Shady Lane and Highway 362 near Williamson.Goolsby said the rainy weather has prevented road crews from scraping dirt roads but they will continue as soon as the weather permits.