Atlanta weather: Roads could take days to repair

Heavy rains damaged a dam and forced some people out of their homes Thursday. Others couldn’t leave their houses after water swallowed up a road in one neighborhood.

As the effects of flooding lingered, more rain was in the forecast. Areas already damaged by heavy rains could take several days to repair, officials in two counties said Thursday.

And several days to dry out. There is a 40 percent chance of more rain Friday, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz. The chance of rain drops to 20 percent for Saturday.

In Cherokee County, a makeshift, gravel road was laid down to allow residents of 26 homes in the Hickory Glenn subdivision a way out, according to Tim Cavender, fire department spokesman. The temporary road became necessary after ground beneath a portion of Stoney Creek Road washed away Wednesday night, making the road too dangerous for vehicles.

James Tongue, who lives in the affected part of the subdivision, said this was the third time the only road to and from his house had washed away, the last time happening about three years ago.

“We drove through here last night around 7:30 and we saw a little bit of deterioration here, but my comment was it’s not as bad as the last time,” Tongue said Thursday.

Tongue’s neighbors, Lance and Penney Davis, said a co-worker was meeting them on the other side of the damaged stretch of road to take them to work because, “We’ve got to be there.”

In north Fulton County, about 100 residents of The Falls at Sandy Springs apartment complex were temporarily evacuated while officials worked to stabilize a dam on a small pond in the complex, which is in the 5500 block of Roswell Road just inside I-285.

“The overnight storm damaged the dam, also causing a gas leak,” said Sharon Kraun, communications director for Sandy Springs.

Authorities worked Thursday to pump water out of the quarter-acre pond to relieve pressure off the dam, said Mark Duke, the city’s assistant fire chief. A second apartment complex downstream, The Mosaic at Sandy Springs, was under a voluntary evacuation because if the breached dam were to break, ground-level apartments were in danger of flooding, Duke said.

Residents were allowed to return home late Thursday, but the threat lingered with additional rainfall. The Red Cross, which provided shelter and meals for four families during the day, planned to remain in “standby” mode overnight in case of additional flooding, a spokeswoman said.

Also in Sandy Springs, Lake Forrest Drive between Lake Summit and Chevaux Court will be closed at least through Sunday, the city’s police department said. Rains caused rock fall and slope hazards in the area and signs are in place to detour drivers.