Good day and welcome to DKos Asheville. This is the weekly DKos Asheville Open Thread for Saturday, April 20th, 2019.
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This Saturday features some heavy weather from yesterday. The following stories are courtesy of WLOS.com.
Thanks for reading and contributing, the floor is yours. Stay safe!
Press release from the City of Asheville: Saturday, April 20th 2019
Asheville Public Works crews worked overnight to re-open Biltmore Village streets, following a day of torrential rain that flooded streets and parks adjacent to the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers.
The Swannanoa River was predicted to crest at 8 p.m. Friday, prompting the City to issue an alert advising people in the Biltmore Village area to seek higher ground. Multiple streets in the village were closed, due to flooding, including a portion of Hendersonville Road.
Crews have to clean streets of debris before they can be re-opened and that is what the City Public Works overnight crew did to re-open Biltmore Village streets, including Brook Street, Sweeten Creek (U.S. 25A), Thompson Street, Hendersonville Road, Swan Street, All Souls Crescent and Biltmore Plaza.
Also crews have now re-opened Swannanoa River Road from Tunnel Road to Bleachery Boulevard. The portion of Swannanoa River Road near Biltmore Village remains closed but is expected to re-open soon.
Inglewood Road at Elk Mountain Scenic Highway was closed for several hours Friday but later re-opened.
Road closures (Saturday)
Friday, City staff observed numerous people driving around flood barricades. Please do not do this! You put yourself — and emergency rescue personnel — at risk.
Here is a list of current road closings:
Tree down on power lines at 526 Kimberly Avenue near Jones Elementary School
Amboy Road
Azalea Road
Caribou Road
102 Old Toll Road on Town Mountain is closed due to a landslide.
Riverside Drive at the train trestle bridge
Please check the City of Asheville website for updates to road closures. Or visit Asheville City Source.
ART route detour
Due to road closure on Lodge Street in Biltmore Village, ART Route S1 will detour from Biltmore Avenue to Hendersonville Road to West Chapel Road outbound and inbound.
Please check the Service Alerts webpage at this link for updates.
Parks
As we are experiencing flooding along the Swannanoa and French Broad River corridors, our riverside parks are affected. This includes Azalea Park, Carrier Park, French Broad River Park and Amboy Riverfront Park.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Too much rain took out part of an Asheville road Friday and threatened homes.
A relentless flow of water undermined the asphalt along Old Toll Road and sent it sliding. A utility pole was also threatened by the deluge of rain.
"We need to get Duke Energy involved," Asheville Public Works director Greg Shuler said. "I don't know if you've called them yet, but their pole is in jeopardy."
A relentless flow of water undermined the asphalt along Old Toll Road and sent it sliding. (Photo credit: WLOS staff)
Shuler was running the operation on scene, talking with his crews, taking photos and keeping an eye on a major problem still in progress.
"We don't know if this is finished moving yet," Shuler said as the road continued to crumble.
Stephan Pruitt was headed home along Old Toll Road, when he came around the bend and saw the damage. "The first thing I noticed was the powerline sagging, and I was, like, 'Oh man,'" Pruitt said. "So, I was kind of like watching the powerline and then I rolled up, and I was, like, 'I probably should be more worried about the hole."
HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C.--Friday rain proved powerful in Henderson County. Gushing water cut a swath out of Timberlane Drive in Etowah. With one way in and one way out, residents say they’ll be inconvenienced until the small bridge is fixed. One woman traveling home from Atlanta to see her family for the Easter weekend, had to leave her car on one side of the gap and meet her father with his car on the other side.
The ground was already saturated from past rains, so with heavy rain Friday something was bound to give. At that one spot in Etowah, Timberlane Drive washed away forcing an obvious closure. Emergency officials were on scene to block it off and make sure drivers stayed away, as they assessed the damage and what it will take to fix it.
Emergency management leaders in the area are taking the opportunity to remind folks what to do and not to do when they come across a lot of water on the roads.
“If they know the typical roads that are flooded stay away from it. Go around it. Don't go through the water. You'll cause more problems if we have to come out after you,” says Transylvania County Emergency Management Coordinator Kevin Shook.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Throughout the day Friday, flash flooding in Biltmore Village left some spots looking more like rivers than roads.
"We’ve seen it come up a few different times, and, every time it floods, it gives us a better understanding at how the water flows in the village," Village Wayside Bar and Grille manager Mark Harding said.
For businesses in Biltmore Village, the situation is nothing new.
“We’re definitely primed and ready to go, and we just want everyone to know that everybody knows that we're used to doing this and we are going to get this all cleaned up," Harding said.
But, until the water goes down, it’s hurting their bottom line.
“It's a little bit of a hassle, but we have a great team behind us that helps us out,” Harding said. “Everybody jumps on board."
Thanks again!