Mitigation on my mind: GDOT works to prevent another Connector flood

“It is extremely ironic,” said Terri Turner, a city of Augusta floodplain manager who was on the host team. “Oh my gosh, it was all we could talk about because that’s what we do. We try to prevent those types of things.”

So does the Georgia Department of Transportation. And officials say they are doing what they can to ward off a repeat occurrence.

However, the sudden flooding that temporarily shut down the interstate wasn't caused by an uncommon weather event, nor was it unprecedented. And if storm drains aren't regularly swept out, it could become a recurring problem.

The storm that dropped slightly more than half an inch of rain within 15 minutes over the interstate was a “run of the mill summertime thunderstorm in Georgia,” according to state meteorologist Will Lanxton.

Lanxton was walking across the Ralph McGill overpass on his way to church when he spotted bumper-to-bumper traffic headed south along the Connector. The northbound lanes were starkly empty.

“My thought was it was a bad accident, but then I turned around and walked a little ways and saw the flooding,” said Lanxton, who added that the tires on a few cars were completely submerged. “It was pretty shocking to me that 7/10 of an inch of rain could do that.”

Fortunately, it was a Sunday afternoon, not a busy weekday. There were no accidents with injuries reported. But the same type of flooding could happen again if the storm drains aren’t cleaned out and the city gets more heavy rains, said WSB-TV Chief Meteorologist Glenn Burns.

“Tropical downpours are extremely common this time of the year,” Burns said. “We also have twice the traffic in summer as we do in winter (and) many tourists who like to throw trash out the window. That combined with interstate neglect by the GDOT could produce the flooding.”

Work crews had last cleared out the drains on Thursday, according to GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale. But in addition to small tree limbs, illegally placed yard signs and highway litter created major blockages.

Water that had pooled to a depth of 2 to 4 feet drained away quickly once road crews responded and uncovered the grates. The highway was back open in about 40 minutes, Dale said.

“We were able to get traffic moving very quickly after those (drains) were cleared,” Dale said. “But it’s a reminder that what you throw out your car or leave on the side of the road has to go somewhere.”

The last time the Downtown Connector was brought to a standstill by flood waters was during the catastrophic flooding of Sept. 21, 2009. Portions of all major Atlanta-area interstates, including I-20, I-75 and I-85, were closed after prolonged rain caused a swiftly rising tide and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses.

While Sunday’s rain storm was unremarkable — not even meriting a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service — certain factors did create a fluke trifecta.

The storm was preceded by 40 to 50 mph winds. Then came a downpour at a rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour. Roadside debris and litter were swept to the area’s lowest point, which happens to be the Downtown Connector in the heart of Atlanta.

“Those types of storms happen every day, but not at that particular location,” Lanxton said.

GDOT has studied the stormwater drainage capacity along that stretch of interstate before and determined that the capacity is not an issue, Dale said.

However, the department is debating what should be done about real estate, political and advertising signage that’s cropping up illegally along the roadsides and exit/entrance ramps. If they continue to cause flooding, GDOT is contemplating collecting and destroying them, Dale said.

In the meantime, GDOT will step up its once-weekly drain cleaning schedule so that drains are checked before and after predicted storms.