This story was produced by My UP News Correspondent Jessica Goska. Find the original story here.
As of August 2024, six Upper Peninsula counties affected by an April 2023 flash flood event have unfunded damages totaling nearly $64 million.
Baraga, Iron, Houghton, Gogebic, Marquette, and Ontonagon counties applied for Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund money after rapid snowmelt in April 2023 caused floodwaters that damaged roads, bridges, utilities, homes, businesses and other infrastructure.
In Gogebic County, there were washouts almost everywhere.
The only section to avoid a washout in Gogebic County, according to Gogebic County Road Commission Manager Garth Stengard, was a portion of the county that had flooded in 2016. Its new culverts survived the April 2023 flood.
This July, Governor Whitmer awarded nearly $11 million in disaster funding to 17 Michigan counties following three state of emergency declarations in the last 16 months.
Just over $5 million of that $11 million was awarded to the U.P. counties affected by the rapid snowmelt.
Phil Strong, Gogebic County Highway Engineer, explained that the April 2023 flooding was complicated by two subsequent snow events, which happened one- and two weeks after the flooding, and delayed action to address the issue.
Damage from the events in Gogebic County alone totaled $26.5 million.
Gogebic County and the surrounding municipalities received funding to repair major roadways, but many of their projects are still unfunded.
“In various places in the county, we have old infrastructures in place, and it’s tough to get funding to replace those aging infrastructures through state programs because very short detours are readily available,” said Strong.
Three bridges in Gogebic County remain closed because of damages incurred during April 2023’s events. Only one, with a four-mile detour, has current funding for repairs.
The Section 19 funds awarded by Governor Whitmer to the affected municipalities will help.
Through a reimbursement program with Michigan State Police, Gogebic County, and the five surrounding municipalities can expend up to $250,000 for any of the identified unfunded damages.
To complete just one road project, a culvert replacement on Section 12 Road, Gogebic County is combining its Section 19 funds with Ironwood Township.
The Road Association is currently working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional funding.
“With the lack of funding that we were getting through the government and state, we had to take it out of our own coffers,” explained Standard. “So, we had to really scale down some of our projects and basically do a lot of patching, a lot of gravel grading, just minor stuff just to get by.”
On average, the county experiences a major flood event every 3-5 years.
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