Leon County staff fix Sir Richard Road nine hours after dramatic washout

Nine hours after it was washed out – becoming one of the most dramatic road casualties of a night of severe flooding – Sir Richard Road is back and fully operational.

Leon County work crews responded early Thursday morning to the Fort Braden area after a chunk of the road gave way due to the storm that swamped the Big Bend Wednesday night.

It was the second time the road had been washed out, according to a resident.

Leon County Administrator Vince Long, County Commissioner Christian Caban, and Director of Public Works Brent Pell were at the scene soon after and managed to talk to residents and assess the damage in order to fix the road as quickly as possible.

"We've had a tremendous amount of support from county staff," Caban said. "This is a project that should take three to four weeks to fix, and our goal is to have it done today."

Long reported that the road was on track to be driven on by Thursday night and that county staff would return to the area Friday morning to ensure the stability of the road and finish any remaining repairs.

County's rapid response and aiding with private roads

As crews were working on fixing the road, Caban checked on his constituents alongside the Tallahassee Fire Department.

"One of our residents back there has a dirt road which connects to another road, and they relayed that to the fire department. They actually were able to take a side by side [vehicle] through the woods and through the dirt trail to get to the other side," Caban said.

Once there he said the focus was on establishing an emergency route.

Sir Richard Road is a private road owned by many of the residents there and this can prove problematic when it comes to repairs, but Caban noted that the county was able to help thanks to the Private Road Preventative Maintenance and Repair Program.

"Because it's an emergency and people cannot evacuate and emergency vehicles cannot get down [to help], it allows us the flexibility to step in and use the resources to get it back up and running," Caban said.

Those resources, according to Vince Long, involved 20 loads of gravel to stabilize the road, 12 dump trucks, and an excavator. County staff also installed a 40-foot culvert pipe since Polk Creek passes through Sir Richard Road.

"It will be a bumpy ride tonight, but tomorrow, the road base over the pipe will be stabilized," Long said.

Countywide efforts to repair and recover

Across the county, dozens of neighborhoods have been majorly impacted by the storm, even Godby High School was closed for the day as there was an inch of water in many classrooms.

But there was a silver lining according to Long: There were no major injuries or deaths.

"We're seeing the water recede relatively quickly in most areas, but we expect good weather going forward for the next few days so that should help us a lot," Long said. He acknowledged several roadways have faced erosion but that they are currently working to fix those issues as soon as possible.

To report any damage caused by the storm or general issues you can call 850-606-3700, the county's general line. The county also has several resources located on their website's emergency information portal.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sir Richard Road in Leon County fixed 9 hours after flooding washout