MDOT: Flooded Freeway Cleanup Will Cost $500,000
DETROIT (WWJ) - It will cost around half-a-million dollars to clean up metro Detroit's flooded freeways.
As road crews continued to work following Monday's downpour that left five major freeways under feet of water, the Michigan Department of Transportation released the preliminary estimate Wednesday.
MDOT inspectors have been doing safety checks on affected infrastructure since Monday evening and will continue to assess for further damage caused by the storm. Spokesperson Diane Cross said problems already identified include compromised pavement, slope washout, and other issues under bridges.
What does that $500,000 price tag cover?
"A lot of manpower, some contracting work," Cross said. "We obviously had to bring in people to help with the roads, the cleanup, removing the water, working on the pump houses, electrical issues, getting the abandoned vehicles off the roadway, hosing down the roadway after all that debris had been on it."
Cross told WWJ's Sandra McNeil the freeways appear to be in good shape, but they're continuing to check for erosion topside.
"The freeway systems, we actually did pretty well through this," Cross said. "It looks like, though, maybe some of the service drives or some of the side roads might be having that issue, and we will constantly be watching this.
"We take a look at them before we look at them, but we will be doing ongoing inspections that will go on to make sure everything's always working how it's suppose to ; but we really did come out in good shape," she said.
Just in time for Wednesday's afternoon commute, all freeways had reopened to traffic with the exception of hard-hit I-75 northbound between 8 Mile Road and I-696.
[SEE WHAT'S CURRENTLY CLOSED HERE]
The National Weather Service said 4.57 inches of rain fell at Detroit Metro Airport, breaking the previous record of 2.06 inches set back in 1964. It's the second-highest one-day rainfall on record for Detroit, behind 4.74 inches that fell on July 31, 1925.
MORE: Gov. Snyder Declares Official Disaster In 3 Counties Following Flooding
Drone Video Shot Over Flooded Hayes Road Is Both Scary And Cool
