BENTON COUNTY(KFSM) – Flooding in Benton County did extensive damage to roads and bridges.
At one point over the weekend, 70 percent of roads and 90 percent of bridges in the county were closed. Now crews have been working to reopen as many as possible.
Snavely Road just south of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport got hit the hardest. Rushing waters tore the road apart leaving pieces of it everywhere. Damage like this is what lead to Benton County Judge Barry Moehring to declare Benton County a disaster.
Every site road crews went to they pulled up GPS coordinates and took pictures of damage for FEMA.
"Like on this you see under the asphalt we have structural loss, so that asphalt is just hanging there. There is nothing underneath it."
Canal Street in Monte Ne is still covered with water.
"We've got our road closed signs up but everyone just drives through it. We're going to lose a car soon."
Patty Campbell lives on Frisco Cemetery Road where the bridge and road flooded but are now back open. Saturday (April 29) evening she noticed water rushing down the hill and said it looked like a waterfall.
"Then I looked out my bedroom window and it was covering my driveway. So I got my husband and said come one let's get out of here it's going to get bad,” Campbell said.
Campbell said they left but their neighbors didn't leave in time and had to be rescued. She said they are fortunate water didn't get inside their home.
"This I can put up with and my heart just goes out to the people that lost their children. This is nothing, we can replace all this you know. I'm just grateful that my home is standing and we're safe and nobody got hurt,” she said.
Benton County officials said it may be awhile before all roads and bridges are back open.