Newspaper Page Text
Saturday, July 9,1994 "Houston Times-Journai
Page 8A
-
A Georgia State trooper gives direction to a motorist
trying to head north on Interstate 75 Wednesday.
Aerial, from 1 a
alarming scenes on the day was the
small groups of observers gathered
in areas where law enforement
agencies either couldn’t get to, or
chose not to stand guard due to a
limited number of troopers and a
large coverage area.
Whether misinformed or simply
disregarding warnings by a host of
media agencies, some people
literally chose to put their lives on
the line down on the ground.
Armed with camcorders and
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cameras, residents or travelers
below could be seen wading
through knee-deep water along
collapsed bridges just to get more
in-depth photos for keepsakes.
At one point, the GSP
helicopter hovered near the bridge in
an effort to discourage one man
who was standing on a guardrail
with a video camera on his
shoulder, and a bridge that was near
the verge of collapsing ever further.
That attempt was to no avail.
GSP takes to the road during flood
By JIMMY SIMPSON
Staff Writer
Members of the Georgia State
Patrol intercepted cars in a different
way here early Wednesday morning,
as torrid rains consumed some
bridges along Interstate 75 while
threatening to engulf others.
Some 32 troopers from as many
as six surrounding counties and
Perry were dispatched to Post 15
here by early morning to offer
assistance to both those in uniform
and those behind the wheel.
Sixteen troopers were placed on
12-hour shifts in an effort to reroute
traffic and attempt to help avoid any
fatalities. Patrol cars from Cordelc,
Valdosta, Douglas, Helena and
Dublin arrived throughout the early
morning hours.
As the bright orange and white
roadblocks stared them in the face,
motorists traveling north lined the
Exit 42 ramp for at least a mile at
times pondering their next move
due to flood waters that had
overtaken a bridge just ahead.
Troopers fielded questions
ranging from the best alternate
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routes to travel, to the length of
time before the vital link of the
interstate would once again be open
to motorists.
“I’ve seen hurricanes, but I’ve
never seen anything like this,” TFC
A.D. Mathis said, in between
directing cars off the interstate
ramp.
TFC V.K. Duke, who was called
in from Post 13 in Tifton, said that
while he had seen portions of the
interstate closed for short periods of
time, he had never seen an extended
closing.
“I’ve been with the GSP for 16
years, and I’ve seen 1-75 closed for
about an hour before, but to have
the road closed off like this is new
to me,” said Duke.
Meanwhile, back at headquarters,
dispatchers were continuously
manning four phone lines. One
dispatcher, Connie McKenzie,
estimated some 300 calls to have
come into the office in a one-hour
time span.
Mathis estimated the number of
calls she fielded alone to be around
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2,400 to 3,000 by late afternoon.
While some travelers asked
logical questions, others, she said,
were expecting mere for tune telling.
“Some were asking me how
long it was going to continue to
rain, and I just told them that we
were going to leave that in God’s
hands,” McKenzie said.
In the air, two pilots stationed
at separate posts were continously
sweeping the sky to survey roads
and bridges that couldn’t be seen
from the ground because of limited
access to certain areas.
Reports were immediately
radioed to law enforcement
personnel to further assist with
traffic in underlying areas.
As of press time late Friday,
Sargcanl First Class, K.W.
Hancock, said that while rains
appeared to have diminished and
some bridges being passable,
officials were still cautioning
motorists regarding travel.
“The area is still going to be
somewhat saturated with troopers,
mainly to discourage speeding and
encourage safe driving,” Hancock
said.
“I foresee a problem with roads
and bridges, so not only are
motorists going to be hampered,
but troopers, as well. We’re just
going to have to weave around and
try to get to wherever it is that
we’re needed in some situations.”
Hancock said that there will
continue to be parts of roadways
that are going to continue to
deteriorate, adding that drivers
should use “extreme caution”.
“Obey any barracades that are set
up- they are there for a reason,” he
said. “Some of the bridges are free
of water, but they still have to be
inspected.”
There were no fatalities reported
in Houston County, but Hancock
said deaths in surrounding counties
should be warning enough that
accidents can happen.
“Anyone living in low lying
areas where there are rivers or
streams nearby need to be extremely
cautious,” Hancock said.
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