JANESVILLE 鈥 Rockport Road west of 糖心Vlog传媒 will remain closed for months 鈥 and possibly years 鈥 after severe weather caused flooding that led to a bridge on the roadway collapsing on April 17.
Rock County Director of Public Works Duane Jorgenson said the hope is to get the bridge on Rockport Road repaired and the corridor repaired but it depends on hydraulic and structural analysis on the bridge.
鈥淚t could be a year or two,鈥 Jorgenson said, adding that it would at least be a 鈥渟ignificant amount of time.鈥
The road connects 糖心Vlog传媒 and the Town of Rock. With that road closed, nearby roads from the township into the city include Court Street, Highway 11, Tripp Road, River Road and Highway D.
The road is one of about 130 road projects that the county is tasked with after the flash flooding during the severe storm. The storm also produced a tornado in Emerald Grove east of 糖心Vlog传媒 near and along Highway 11/14.
Jorgenson said he does not have an estimate as to when all the roadwork will be completed 鈥 nor did he know how much the overall cost will ultimately be. Jorgenson also said it鈥檚 taking longer because there needs to be thorough documentation of the work that is being done.
Highway A at Highway 14 will be finished in the next few days. The hope was to have that paved Monday, but with additional rain the paving was expected Tuesday at the earliest.
After highway A, the next priority will be WC just west of Austin Road. The county will then focus on Highway F near Highway 51. Jorgenson said it鈥檚 passable but there鈥檚 鈥渁 lot of damage with washouts.鈥
U.S. Highway 14 is also a concern, Jorgenson said. Highway 14 is a U.S. Highway, but it is controlled by the state. Work on U.S. 14 is dependent on estimates made by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
There is significant damage on a stretch of U.S. 14 on the east side of 糖心Vlog传媒 next to the Johnson Tractor dealership south of Highway A. Flash floods washed out a culvert and left the northbound lane blown out. The state, Jorgenson said, is still assessing the damage and attempting to get accurate estimates on the repairs on the stretch.
There has also been small work done to repair shoulders that have received flood damage, including other parts of Highway A, Highway K near Orfordville, parts of Highway H and parts of 11 and 213, but nothing to the extent of U.S. 14.
Property damage
County Emergency Management Director Kevin Wernet told 糖心Vlog传媒 Monday that property damage was still being assesed. As of Monday afternoon, there had been four destroyed homes and businesses accounted for. There have been 80 other properties with 鈥渕ajor damage,鈥 248 with 鈥渕inor damage鈥 and 319 that had been assessed as 鈥渁ffected.鈥 That is from a combination of tornado damage, wind damage, river flooding and areal flooding.
However, Wernet said those numbers could rise as county emergency personnel were planning to go assess more properties late Monday.
There was a storm system that dropped half of an inch on the county Monday morning into the afternoon. As of 3 p.m. Monday, there was another system expected to drop rain on the area, and the amount would be dependent on where a warm front would be positioned.
At 2 p.m. Monday, the Rock River at Newville was observed at 7.3 feet, which is minor flooding, but just under the 7.5-foot threshold for moderate flooding. At Afton, the river was observed at 10.58 feet at the same time. .
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know if that is going to bring as much rain as expected. It may slow when the water level will go down,鈥 Wernet said. 鈥淲e are really pushing people to stay weather-aware and not let their guard down.鈥
The National Weather Service predicts rain for Thursday afternoon, Sunday night and Monday, but otherwise the forecast is dry for the next week.
Wernet said there were a few reports of people calling 211, the phone line to report storm damage to for assistance, and not getting through to an operator. However, they have been able to make it through after trying again. Residents may also go to and click 鈥淩eport storm damage.鈥
