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Atmore Officials: Florida Road Design Is Causing Alabama Flooding
March 25, 2016
Alabama officials believe a road in Florida is creating a dam that is causes flooding problems in Atmore.
A National League of Cities representative for the city of Atmore recently lobbied Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby in Washington for a solution and money for an engineering study into the flooding issues. Atmore officials say the problem lies with Greenland Road about a half of a mile south of the state line in Florida.
The drainage system that becomes Pine Barren Creek begins near the back of Atmore Community Hospital and flows south toward the McRae Apartments, crosses McRae Street east of the Brooks Memorial Baptist Church. flows back southwest past the Briar Lake Subdivision, crosses into Florida behind the Davisville Piggly Wiggly and continues south to Greenland Road.
The design of Greenland Road, according to Atmore officials, creates a dam that backs water up into their city during periods of heavy rain. About 20 years ago, nearly 60 homes in Atmore flooded as a result.
Escambia County (FL) Public Works Director Wes Moreno said the problem lies with the Pine Barren Creek Bridge on Greenland Road, about a third of a mile east of Highway 97. He said the “bridge” is actually a series of large drainage pipes under the road, rather than an “open” bridge. Heavy rain won’t flow through the pipes fast enough, especially if any debris backs up and begins to block a drainage pipe.
The solution, he said, would appear to be replacement of the pipe system with an ordinary bridge.
Moreno said Escambia County will contact the Florida Department of Transportation to see if the Greenland Road bridge problem might be prioritized under the FDOT’s work plan that dictates future bridge replacements. The total length of the bridge, which was constructed in 1955, is 32.2 feet. It is not currently prioritized as being structurally deficient or in need of replacement by FDOT.
Pictured: Water backs up and flows under Greenland Road in Escambia County, FL, on Thursday afternoon following heavy downpours. The bridge, according to Atmore officials, causes water to back up into Alabama where it causes flooding problems. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
15 Responses to “Atmore Officials: Florida Road Design Is Causing Alabama Flooding”
No one ever seems to mention how Atmore pollutes Pine Barren Creek. Years ago you could drink the water out of the creek. Then Atmore found it to be a convenient sewer for themselves. In many states, Atmore would be in deep do-do for what they are doing to the creek.
As Atmore grew and increased the amount of blacktop that creates more run-off, the creek has suffered, as well as the highways and bridges downstream. Atmore has polluted both Pine Barren and Boggy Creek that I know of. You can actually smell sewage in Boggy Creek, which comes from Atmore’s “water treatment” facility.
In Atmore, both business and residential areas, I remember ponds existing when I was very young. Today, the water they held back then is funneled to Pine Barren Creek. Atmore needs holding ponds for their runoff.
Wonder if someone lays eyes in them pipes if a Beaver is getting in there and packing mud and sticks to make a dam. Simple solution. Put a grate over and check to make sure the Beaver didn’t tear it back to daub it back up. Country common sense.
@Just Sayin… Katrina hit in 2005 that makes it just about 10 years ago people we live in Florida learn your damn history. Yes this seems to me to be an Alabama problem the flow starts on their side and should be controlled by them. Alabama should pay for the construction or devise another way to handle the water flow.
The politics in Escambia County Fla. cannot make any progress on this situation without paying some engineer-survey contractor a couple of hundred thousand dollars to “STUDY” the problem and make sure that water runs down hill first.
It was Hurricane Dennis, & maybe Atmore just needs to keep the debris from clogging unless they think Fl aught to do that too.
Hurricane Erin and Opal hit in1995 that was 21 yrs ago and Ivan it in 2004 that was 12 years ago. Just saying
About 10 years ago was Hurricane Opal. Lots of things flooded.
These pipes were here long before Atmore upgraded their canal systems helping the water to run faster and long before most of the homes that would be claimed to have been flooded because of them were built.
CW…. You understand my point exactly. 113 project benefited Florida; we paid to upgrade it. With that said, replacement of the culvert system on Greenland Road would benefit Atmore so Atmore should pay for it. Otherwise, only one flood in 60 plus years doesn’t create an emergency on Florida’s part. By the way, what happened a little over 10 years ago that would contribute to a blockage? Hurricane Ivan’s aftermath that’s what.
@oversight
The widening of 113 was done for Florida’s benefit since it is a hurricane evacuation route.
Anyways, looking at Google Earth I dont see any problems downstream with increased flow through Greenland Rd, as long as the bridge on hwy 4 can handle it.
Sounds like the problem is on the FLA side, so FLA is responsible. So, the burocrats (heehaw) need to take the months it will need to form comittees, schedule meetings, hold plate dinners, & or whatever else time needs wasting to get this problem solved, including holding auctions or bidding wars amongest contractors. Hwy engineers, traffic planners, irrigation & fluid dynamics specialists and scientists enlisted, wildlife impact studies done, deal with Audubon Society protests, on & on, ad nausea.
All this may cause dizziness, but seems necessary, if homes are getting flooded. Think of the lawsuits that might arise if i FLA is in fact legally deemed culpable in this.
So, it doesn’t really form a dam, but a restriction, a choke point?
Could build a catchment as a buffer rather than try to throw away the water as quickly as possible.
Might be cheaper to replace the culverts, though.
Not a big span.
David for water retention
Okay I see the pictures showing high water on the Atmore side of the bridge. It would of been nice to see the flow on the other side just for a little more confirmation that the water is trickling or low on that side as it would be if flow was restricted.
Keep Alabama water out of Florida. ?????? What do you mean.? Does that mean people from Florida should stay out of Alabama? this is a serious problem, peoples homes flood and you joke about it. Let’s just build a bridge and let the water flow.
The easy solution would to be to keep Alabama water out of Florida!
Have Atmore pay for it since it is for its benefit. Just like Florida paid millions of dollars to upgrade and widen Alabama 113 from Flomaton to I-65 years ago.