FAYETTE COUNTY, Tenn. — Fayette County roads were back open Friday after some were covered with flash flood waters, but with more rain in the forecast, those roads may be underwater again soon.
Those who know how quickly the roads in this area flood are watching to see what Saturday’s rainfall will bring.
“It did rise pretty quickly and there has to be some concerns with the weather coming in the next couple of days. The ground’s already saturated, there’s no place for the water to go,” Russell Gwatney said.
Gwatney said he’s in town for a Christian retreat but couldn’t even get to the event without taking a detour down Highway 194.
Busy Highway 76 was closed down on Thursday because it wasn’t possible for cars to get through.
“I saw it on TV, I saw that the water was completely over the road,” said Gwatney, who is keeping an eye on the conditions.
“As far as we knew the road was still closed. I called the sheriff’s department at 5 this morning,” he said. “We have a lot of volunteers that come up here for this retreat to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and they couldn’t get here this morning. ”
Luckily those headed to the retreat were able to finally get through without going out of their way.
Resident Derek Harvey says flooded roads are nothing new.
“I’m just used to it,” he said. “It’s known to flood if it rains a whole lot.”
He says he knows the back roads around the area.
Gwatney says he’s ready for the next round, now that he knows.
“Sunday that bridge may be flooded again.”
In which case he says his team already has a plan in place to steer clear of flood waters.
