Decatur apartment complex gets new emergency route

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A bulldozer spreads a layer of dirt over an existing roadbed near the Grant Springs Apartment complex in western Decatur April 20. Recent heavy rains flooded the low-water bridge near the complex, trapping residents in their apartments for nearly 24 hours.
Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A bulldozer spreads a layer of dirt over an existing roadbed near the Grant Springs Apartment complex in western Decatur April 20. Recent heavy rains flooded the low-water bridge near the complex, trapping residents in their apartments for nearly 24 hours.

DECATUR -- When a light rain began to fall in northwest Arkansas March 26, no one knew at the time six inches of rain would fall in 12 hours and trap many area residents in their homes for several days. For residents of the Grant Springs Apartment in western Decatur, the resulting floods cut off their only route into town.

The low-water bridge over the Decatur Branch of the Columbia Hollow Creek on Grant Avenue was closed by city officials early on March 27. Water flowed over the bridge at more than five miles an hour, cutting off any access into Decatur.

The closure prompted the Decatur City Council to approve the construction of an emergency access road for the residents of the apartment complex to use during high-water events.

When completed, the road will connect the apartments on Grant Springs Avenue to Hidden Springs Drive. Access to this new road will be restricted to times when the low water bridge is closed due to flooding.

General News on 04/25/2018