BENTONVILLE — City and county officials continue to deal with fallout from heavy rain last week that prompted the county judge to declare an emergency.
Parts of some Bentonville trails are still closed and portions of at least three roads remain closed.
Flooding caused additional damage to a dam at Bella Vista Lake awaiting repair from previous floods. Rain early Thursday morning opened a hole in the top of the dam the city filled in the past.
“The hole is back and it’s about 10 percent larger than it was,” said Ben Peters, city engineer. “We are going to fill it back in so that pedestrians don’t have a fall hazard.”
The dam serves as part of the trail system at the lake, but is closed until it is safe, Peters said. The city is in the midst of an environmental assessment at the dam so it can receive money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to replace the leaking structure. The assessment likely will be complete next spring, Peters said.
Trails around the lake are open, but are littered with debris from water that flooded the disc golf course and picnic areas. David Wright, parks director, said cleanup at the lake and at nearby Wishing Springs Trail could take months of work.
“It’s a major cleanup,” Wright said.
Volunteers are assisting that effort. Friends at Slaughter Pen Trails spent Saturday morning picking up debris along bike trails, though there was little volunteers could do about a wooden bridge washed aside near the wastewater treatment plant on A Street. City workers likely will get to the bridge some time next week, Wright said.
Workers have focused on clearing the widely used Wishing Springs Trail and removing debris from several pedestrian tunnels. The tunnels near the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Bark Park have opened, but two tunnels on the Wishing Springs Trail remain closed.
“We knew this would happen,” Wright said. “We signed up for this. With a big event like that, you’re going to have a lot of water go through there.”
Price Coffee Road in Bentonville remains closed as city workers inspect damage from a mudslide. Mike Churchwell, director of the Transportation Department, said staff is working on a plan to repair the unstable road.
Two roads remain closed in the county — Bill Billings Road near Garfield and Georgia Flat Road near Gravette. Jack Brown, road grader foreman for Benton County, said the west side of the county north and west of Decatur was the hardest hit by rain.
“We’re dealing with a lot of damage,” Brown said. “We’ve got to damage to culverts, box culverts and ditches that flooded the roads and washed away.”
Two homes remained cut off from a passable street over the weekend, he said. The homes, both north of Centerton, had access Monday, he said.
“Everybody can get to where they’re going today,” Brown said.