COBB COUNTY, Ga. — With more rain expected, crews across metro Atlanta are taking steps to make sure drains are able to quickly handle water in downpours.
In Cobb County, officials told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that it will take two weeks to clear piles of debris from roadsides.
In addition to all of the other work crews have to do, they will spend one hour a day clearing roadside debris.
“We’ve had 39 closed roads from flooding, we have 81 downed trees,” Cobb Department of Transportation Deputy Chief J.D. Lorens said.
Channel 2 Action News got a first look at how busy Cobb County’s Department of Transportation crews are from all the heavy rain that moved in over the past week.
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“We’ve cleared (trees) from the right of way to make sure cars and public safety can pass,” Lorens said.
Heavy equipment helps get the job done quickly.
“Large trunks you can pick them up with ease and go straight to the back of a tandem,” Lorens said.
While crews will spend the next two weeks clearing piles of debris like this from the side of the road, they will use equipment to inspect storm drains.
“We have a camera that we can drop into the structure(s)” Lorens said. “We’ll go out again to our hotspots and make sure that there’s no debris there. We have hotspots we know typically flood in a heavy downpour, so we’ll address those prior to the rain coming in.”