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Streets still closed
Published Tuesday, May 6, 2008
NATCHEZ — Though the turbulent Mississippi River is receding and land that has been covered for weeks now lies exposed, the city is not ready to reopen Silver Street and Roth Hill Road anytime soon.
Silver Street still has water covering a portion of its base while Roth Hill Road no longer has water covering its paved areas.
Aside from the standing water, things are back to normal on Silver at Magnolia Grill, which was closed due to plumbing issues, and Under the Hill Saloon, which had to place a portable bathroom on its porch.
The Isle of Capri casino boat has been closed since April 13, when the water hit around 55.5 feet, but it may still be a week before the doors are opened, City Engineer David Gardner said.
Though the forecast, as of Monday afternoon, showed the water at 53.4 feet, Gardner said just because the water has fallen to a level where the boat was still operating, it’s not the same.
“It’s not a mirror at all,” he said. “Every day stands on its own.”
He said the Isle is no longer maintaining the sandbags that were being used to keep the floodwaters at bay, which is causing more water to be on the road than before.
“It also can’t be like the flipside because as the water is receding down it’s leaving silt and debris,” Gardner said. “You have a time factor in there on cleaning up the road.”
He said the entryways to the boat are blocked by debris and it’s going to take several days for the Isle to clean it up.
He said it would not be possible for the Isle to open to boat immediately.
Gardner said the situation on Silver Street will be reassessed next week.
John Moran, interim general manager for the Isle of Capri, said hotel and casino officials have not had a discussion with the city about reopening the boat.
As far as Roth Hill Road, the city is in no hurry to reopen the road, Gardner said.
“There’s some erosion that has occurred and I like for the river to get down a bit to assess the damage,” Gardner said. “I see some evidence of some pretty good erosion next to the pavement.”
A large chunk of the earthen embankment has been washed away, but Gardner said it shouldn’t be too difficult to fix.
“What we would probably do is come back with rock and fill the holes,” he said.
In addition to that, the city will also have to clean the silt and debris off the road and unclog the storm drain.
“There’s no reason for me to open it up now and I’d rather for the river to go down a little bit more to see if there’s any erosion next to the pavement,” Gardner said.
Looking at the river forecast for the week, Gardner said it may be a while before the water gets down to a manageable level.
The river will significantly drop from Monday’s 53.4 to 52.2 today and by Wednesday it will be 51.5.
On Thursday it will drop merely to 51.3 and then stay there, Gardner said.
“So that means that it’s crested, a lower crest,” Gardner said. “Either it’s going to go back up or be such a slow fall that it’s going to drag this thing out.”
“We just have to wait and see what Mother Nature does,” Gardner said.
Comments
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Walked down Silver Street Sunday and thought it was looking pretty good and close to re-opening and then some girls who work on the boat came up to me and said they were told it would open this Sunday and they do NOT want it to.
Posted by GopherBaroque (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You can't fool Mother Nature!
Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 8:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why are we still feeling pity ourselves, other people in this world have it WAY WORSE:
YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from a powerful cyclone that slammed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta was raised to more than 22,000 people on Tuesday, state media reported.
An additional 41,000 people were missing as a result of the cyclone, which triggered a massive storm surge that swept inland and left people with nowhere to run, killing at least 10,000 people in one town alone.
"More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe told a news conference in the devastated former capital, Yangon, where food and water supplies are running low.
"The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages," he said, giving the first detailed description of the weekend cyclone. "They did not have anywhere to flee."
HEY DEMOCRAT, TRY WRITING ABOUT OTHER NEWS BESIDES NATCHEZ SOMETIMES!!!!
Posted by lambchop (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Talk about not being able to please everyone. One person wants to read about other areas and most want as much information as possible about our hometown. I prefer hometown news because I can't get out and roam like others and it keeps me informed. I can get other news from internet and national news. Sorry, not putting anyone down, just want as much Natchez-Vidalia news as is possible. Give us more!
Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, let the people in this town ONLY focus on what's occurring in this town. When the nukes hit, we won't know or care because it had nothing to do with us.
Natchez Democrat, please put more info about what goes on at Dimples on Saturday nights or what the Natchez Garden Club is planning. That's some important stuff!
Posted by wolf1327 (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
obama, if your not aware you can get national news from the ap, fox news, cnn. i know its a big task to click the adress bar with the mouse but i think you can do it. if you want i can type the web adresses for you and then all you will have to do is copy and past them.
Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ignorance is bliss wolf1327, what you don't know won't hurt you; Although your sarcasm is rather amusing.
Posted by veroniss (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i MY SELF HOPE THE GAMBLING JUNK LEAVES HERE,SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN HERE WE HAVE HAD ALOT ALOT OF PEOPE LOOSE THEIR SHIRTS TO THE DEVILS PLAYGROUND.i PRAY FOR ALL THOSE WHO WORK THERE.i HOPE THEY CAN FIND BETTER JOBS AND MAKE A GOOD LIFE FOR THEIRSELVES.GOD BLESS ALL OF THEM.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on May 7, 2008 at 6:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well there you go again obamayamama thinking you are better than us on here. WHY does this not surprise me?
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