Another normal Oregon winter?
Unrelenting rains create flooding and road closures
Judy McClintock
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Rain has saturated the state in recent weeks, and has no immediate sign of letting up.
According to the National Weather Service, Monmouth, Independence and nearby state capitol Salem can expect plenty more of the wet showers until at least Saturday, Jan. 14.
The slough of rain has brought about mudslides, flooding and road closures and has sent local public-works crews to work.
"We basically do as much as we can in the street areas," said Ken Perkins, Public Works Supervisor for the city of Independence.
Last week, many local streets were closed due to flooded water, according to Perkins.
Parts of Gun Club Road in Independence were blocked off due to high water, Perkins said. "But people still drove through anyway," he said, causing Perkins and crew to pull out stuck vehicles from sticky mud and high water.
In addition, Perkins said his crew helped Marion County close parts of South River Road, which runs behind Independence toward Salem. "The water through there was quite a bit," he said.
The biggest feat of work for crews has been in fixing various ditches and catch basins, Perkins said. A catch basin is a structure in a street designed to catch running street water, Perkins said, with a crate for its top that catches debris.
"We had some areas down on 6th and 7th that needed some ditch work," Perkins said, "doing some extra digging."
The flooding, which resulted in so much work for Perkins and staff, came in the aftermath of the second big storm in recent weeks, on Thursday, Jan. 5, and Friday, Jan. 6, he said. The rain that had already fallen grew and became "backed up with nowhere to go," he said, resulting in flooding.
The massive amount of moisture is above normal for the area, according to the National Weather Service. Salem received 11.52 inches of rain in the month of December-5.06 inches above the normal for the winter month. Monday, Jan. 9, and Tuesday, Jan. 10, brought 1.52 inches to the area alone.
In upcoming days, local citizens can only expect more.