Representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as FEMA, are still in Cache County and County Executive Craig Buttars says the head of the road department and director of development services are out with them each day sizing up damages from the recent flooding.
Buttars says as they tally up damages, they are also attempting to determine what the costs will be for replacing what has been lost. He says it appears that federal money is available to help recover the costs and it is expected to be available before long.
Buttars says one of the main concerns, however, is 600 South, also known as Mendon Road.
“Because of different regulations that road is classified as a collector road, so it is not eligible for funding through FEMA,” Buttars explains. “To get (Federal) Highway Administration funding the damages have to be over $750,000.
“That is a road that looks like we are going to have to pull from our reserve funds here in the county to make those repairs on the Mendon Road. We are planning on doing that.”
The road has been closed since February after being damaged by floods. Buttars says that work will be done as soon as possible after the water recedes, which might not be until late summer.
In a press release issued by Cache County, at least three engineering firms have reviewed the damage and have advised against a temporary fix due to the project’s high costs, instability, and inefficient use of taxpayer funds.