County roads affected by heavy rain

By Lisa Shapiro
Staff Writer
    The rain has not only put a damper on many people’s spring break plans, but also could affect the way we travel in Jackson County. Some roads are in bad shape or closed down in Jackson County due to a significant amount of rain.
    Jackson County Precinct 1 Commissioner Wayne Hunt said County Road 282 is closed down because it was washed out from the rain. Hunt said pipes that are six feet in diameter were recently ordered for the road. The pipes drain water in the ditch under the road. He said the pipes will cost about $20,000. When the pipes come in and the roads dry up it will take less than a day to fix the road.
    Until the road is fixed, drivers can drive around the washed out part of CR 282 by driving on CR 281 to Farm-to-Market 530 then get back on CR 282.
    Hunt said he isn’t aware of any other roads that were washed out in his precinct.
    Jackson County Precinct 3 Commissioner Johnny Belicek said roads in his precinct are in bad shape, but can be driven on. Belicek has not received any phone calls regarding roads being washed out. At this moment there are no road closures, he said. County Road 311 is one of the roads that may close down, Belicek said.
    “We can’t patch them up until they are dry,” he said.
    Jackson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Dennis Karl said his roads are okay to drive on and there are no roads washed out.
    Jackson County Precinct 2 Commissioner Wayne Bubela also reported that all the roads in his precinct are fine. There were no roads washed out. Bubela said some roads had minor flooding.
    Lavaca-Navidad River Authority reported 2.19 inches of rain on March 8 and 1.76 inches on March 9, a total of 3.95 inches from their headquarters in Edna. 
    Jackson County Extension Agent Mike Hiller of Texas AgriLife said he calculated 5.25 inches of rain from March 8-9 in Edna.