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County hit hard by Ike

Posted Monday, September 22, 2008

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A piece of heavy equipment clears away a tree that was blocking Anderson on Saturday morning.

The pre-storm estimated cost of cleaning up debris from both county roads and public streets in Brazoria County is estimated at a whopping $22.27 million, Commissioners Court members were told during a special session on Monday, Sept. 15.

If that figure was shocking, the post-storm estimate is $46.9 million, including 2.5 million cubic yards of debris.

The county's part of the cost is estimated at $11.77 million. "Probably $10.5 million of the county's cost can be reimbursed,” County Judge Joe King said.

With regard to the estimated cost of cleanup, Judge King said that when he looked at the figures he had to "get up off the floor."

Although most of this is "green," including uprooted trees and broken branches, remnants of some buildings, ranging from shingles to tin, are included.

Precinct 1, covering most of the south end of the county, is beginning to remove trees and other debris from alongside roads, Commissioner Donald "Dude" Payne told other members of Commissioners Court during a special session Monday.

Trench burning is an option, commissioners said, and should reduce the costs to some extent, but to choose that alternative the county must first assure that all legal issues are covered.

Payne said waiting until the county reaches an agreement on a trench burner is not an option in his area because of the volume of debris on and along roads in his area of the county.

He noted that as soon as his crews removed debris from one area, citizens who are cleaning their property pile their debris along the roadside.

Court members approved a motion authorizing the district attorney's office to begin the necessary legal work toward trench burning, with a decision on the disposal method of to be made later.

Brazoria County Road and Bridge employees face a tremendous job in cleaning debris from Hurricane Ike and restoring some roads damaged by that storm.

County Engineer Gerald Roberts said that in the first two days of clean-up, 95 percent of the county roads were open and cleared, with only 11 miles of county roads still closed because of downed power lines.

"They have done an excellent job assessing roads and clearing away tree limbs and other debris," Roberts said.

The worst damage to county roads occurred on CR 257, the Blue Water Highway, where Roberts said seven miles have been closed.

The most serious damage there is between Surfside and the San Luis Pass bridge leading to Galveston County, near Beach Access #5, Roberts said. In some areas the entire road washed away, including the base, County Commissioner Donald "Dude" Payne said.

"Where there was a road, it's now just water," he added.

Residents of Treasure Island are being allowed to travel to their homes, but the route is extremely primitive, Rosa said. He recommended that anyone trying to reach Treasure Island use a four-wheel drive vehicle.

"No traffic in either direction is being allowed to cross the bridge between Brazoria County and Galveston Island," Rosa said.

County crews are removing debris from this road at present. The people doing this work are already exhausted, Roberts said,

Roberts said the county is working with TECQ and FEMA on getting a debris management order. Two sites have been located for trench burning of green materials, but two more sites remain to be determined.

Construction materials from residential and building wreckage must be sent to the landfill for disposal, he said.

Full road and bridge crews will be back at work beginning Tuesday. "What I do is after the storm," Roberts said. "Certain people are coming in early, and others will be at work soon."

During the storm, the county's Road and Bridge Department provided fuel for other governmental agencies, including the sheriff's office, Parks and Wildlife, federal Fish and Wildlife and other employees.

FEMA will reimburse the county service centers for much of the costs, including repairs such as tire damage due to the debris.

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