Photos courtesy Jackson County Department of Transportation
Heavy ran has caused flooding throughout Jackson County, closing at least two roads and disrupting travel. The Jackson County Department of Transportation has been monitoring and responding to storm damage on county roads throughout the weekend. Additional flooded roads have been added to the list since the last update Sunday morning.
JCDOT reports the following roads have flooding as of Sunday afternoon:
Berry Road and Easton Road – Rives Township
Callahan Road at Michigan Avenue – Parma Township
Cook Street & Rail Road – Rives Township
East Territorial Road – Henrietta Township
Hankerd Road – Henrietta Township
Harr Road east of Waterloo Road – Waterloo Township
Holibaugh Road south of Streetor Road – Springport Township
Hoyer Road – Leoni Township
Lippert Road east of Eckert Road – Pulaski Township
N. Dearing – Parma Township – OPEN
Peacock Road – Rives Township
Pickett Road south of Peckham Road – Parma Township
Reynolds Road – Spring Arbor Township
Riethmiller Road – Waterloo Township
Smith Road east of Walz Road – Leoni Township – CLOSED
Springport Road east of Hilldale Road – Springport Township
Styles Road – Henrietta Township
Tophith Road between Parks Road and Leeke Road – Waterloo Township – CLOSED
Tophith Road in Waterloo Township is currently closed and will remain closed until water levels recede and the road is deemed safe for traffic. Smith Road sustained severe damage and remains closed. A detour route will not be posted and motorists should seek alternate routes.
Motorists are reminded to never drive through standing water, as the integrity of the underlying road cannot be determined. Additionally, residents should always stay clear of downed trees or utilities. JCDOT encourages the reporting of flooding, downed trees and utilities, or other issues by calling 911.
A Flood Warning remains in effect for Jackson County at Grand River until Sunday, January 19. Between 2 and 3 inches of total precipitation has fallen in the last 48 hours at nearly all locations in South Central Michigan. Most of this fell as regular rain before changing over to a wintry mix. Temperatures have now fallen well below freezing, and some of the water making its way toward the rivers is getting frozen in place. This has effectively reduced the runoff a bit, and has resulted in a lowering of expected crests on some of the rivers.
At 9:30 AM Sunday the stage was 12.5 feet. Flood stage is 14.0 feet. Minor Flooding is forecast. The forecast is for the river to rise above flood stage by Wednesday early afternoon and continue to rise to near 14.1 feet by Thursday evening. The river will fall below flood stage by Saturday early afternoon. Slightly less rain than expected, and significantly colder air now surging into the area, are reducing runoff and the expected crest has been reduced. Expect minor flooding of low lying areas.
Flood history: This crest compares to a previous crest of 14.6 feet on Sep 2 2018.
Photos and map courtesy Jackson County Department of Transportation.