YELL COUNTY, Ark. – In the summer of 2019 Arkansas saw record breaking flooding on the Arkansas River. It left millions of dollars of damage in its path.
It may have been months ago, but for Yell County Judge Mark Thone, it’s like it was yesterday.
“It seems like every week I’ve dealt with a levee issue, or the levee task force, or meetings with the local levee board,” Thone said.
In the summer, the Holla Bend levee breached, putting a huge hole in the highway. Today, there is still a hole in the ground, but it’s being fixed.
“We would rather not have this damage but yes, everything seems to be progressing,” Thone said.
He says construction crews have been working around the clock in Yell County, including his own road department.
“We worked endless hours. We had some roads that were totally destroyed.”
Highway 155 is the only road left closed in Yell County. Thone says they have applied for a few grants to help fund the cost.
“It’s a $1.5 million grant,” Thone said. “We have some damage in a remote area on the Petit Jean River. We applied for a$300,000 grant in that. We’re still waiting on word.”
They are still waiting to hear back before those project begin.
Mother Nature, taking out the land in seconds. Thone says, building it back up will take even more time and money.
“They have done a lot of work. It might not look at it to someone who didn’t know what they hole looked like before.”
