EKY road crews working on ‘intensified’ repairs after flooding last summer

ISOM, Ky. (WYMT) - Road construction season is starting up in Eastern Kentucky, and crews are anticipating more repairs than normal.

“So, normally when we would have a few embankment repairs, asphalt, different things like that. Ditching and things. We would have those on a regular basis. Now, those are kind of intensified,” said Shantana Woodward, who is the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 12 Public Information Officer.

KYTC’s 12th District covers a lot of areas hit by last summer’s flooding.

Highway 15 in Knott County and Route 7 in Letcher County are two roads under a spotlight, and the extent of those repairs will vary.

“They’re filling in those banks that have essentially washed out from the flooding. When the flood comes through, the water will erode those rocks and soil and things, and really wash out those embankments causing the road to collapse there,” Shantana Woodward said.

While repairs may take longer to complete, Woodward said they will be moving one stop at a time to ensure quality.

“We’ll start in one place, and we’ll work our way to another. We’ll finish this one, and when this one finishes, we’ll open that section and move to the next one, and then we’ll close that section or we’ll do one lane,” Woodward said.

Woodward also said road crews rely on the public to observe road signs in places where workers may not be able to see as far.

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