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Kannapolis plans to close flooded road

By Karen Cimino Wilson | Independent Tribune

Published: June 24, 2009

Kannapolis City Council decided Monday to close a road that accesses a mobile home park because the road is in a flood plain and would cost more than $600,000 to fix.

The mobile home park has another access point, but this could extend response times for police and fire to the neighborhood, according to city officials.

Assistant Public Works Director Ed Dehlin told council members that recent rain levels have left parts of McLain Road under water and difficult to repair.

The road is within a 100-year flood plain of Chambers Branch.

"But it does not take a 100-year flood to flood this road," Dehlin said. "It doesn't take a whole lot of water to flood this roadway."

Dehlin provided council members with three alternatives to dealing with the problem. The first was to pave McClain Road from Fairview to Verona Street. This option would cost the city $200,000 and would not guarantee that the road would stop flooding.

The second option was to raise McClain Road above the 100-year flood plain. This option would cost an additional $600,000.

"It would take about four feet to get rid of the floodwaters," Dehlin said. "We don't know that there is a guarantee that $600,000 to raise it four feet is going to take out the maintenance fees we will have in the future."

"We knew it was in a flood plain from the beginning," council member Ken Geathers said, adding that wasn't sure spending $600,000 to raise the road would help if the city cannot dredge the creek.

In the past, the city has dredged the creek, removing sediment that had built up and clogged parts of the creek, but dredging for capacity is no longer allowed.

The third option was to pave McClain Road from Fairview to Genoa Street and then to close McClain from Genoa Street to some point south of Verona Street. Dehlin recommend this option to city council members who voted 6-1 to close the street. They also voted to put in a cul-de-sac where the road ends.

The road has already been blocked for construction, but will remain closed under the new plan.

• Contact reporter Karen Cimino Wilson: 704-789-9141