In Midland the steady rains Friday caused flooding on the streets, forcing the city to close its flood gates for the first time.
City of Midland spokesperson Sara Bustilloz said the barriers are in place to stop drivers from crossing low-water areas.
“We had a lot of people ignoring cones, ignoring signs we were putting out,” Bustilloz said. “So we felt the need to put something that was much more visible and that made it a lot harder for them to get into the water.”
Bustilloz said six of these gates have been installed over the past few months, with three more still to come.
“The last big rain event we had, for instance at the golf course low-water crossing, we had a big 18-wheeler actually get stuck and our fire department had to perform a high water rescue,” said Bustilloz.
According to Assistant Transportation Manager Gabe McClelland, the cones they used in the past had more problems than just people ignoring them.
“These traffic cones, as the water rises, end up washing away,” McClelland said. “They end up in the channel or the draw.”
McClelland said there’s even lights on the gates and they’re powered by good ole mother nature.
“We’ve installed advanced warning lights,” McClelland said. “They’re solar powered lights and what we do is we simply turn on these yellow flashers when the gates are closed, to alert traffic.”
McClelland said the gates cost about $4,000 apiece and when it’s all said and done, it’ll be nearly a $40,000 cost in all.
(News release from YourBasin.com)
