Trinity River bridge closed, barge comes loose

07:35 AM CDT on Sunday, September 25, 2005

Associated Press

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It's been a busy morning along the Trinity River. TxDOT officials closed Hwy. 59 just south of the Goodrich Bridge Sunday morning due to concerns over the rising water level on the Trinity River. The river is swelling due to an emergency release from the dam at Lake Livingston.

Residents in flood plains along the Trinity River from Lake Livingston south to the Galveston Bay are under a flood warning.

While the bridge is closed, southbound traffic on U.S. 59 will be detoured to Huntsville on U.S. 190 where motorists will connect to I-45 to Houston. Northbound traffic will be detoured around the bridge to the west using Hwy. 150, Hwy. 156 and U.S. 190 to rejoin U.S. 59 in Livingston.

KHOU-TV

Trinity River detour

City Manager Allen Barnes said 100 to 500 residents along the Trinity River will be told to leave their homes due to possible storm damage to the dam, which is about 30 miles north of town. Barnes said if there is flooding, it could begin as early as Tuesday.

To inspect and repair the dam, the Trinity River Authority plans to drain 80,000 to 100,000 cubic feet per second for several days. Officials said damage could have come from large rocks being moved by Rita into the dam. The rocks normally protect the lake's banks from erosion.

Steve McCraw, state homeland security chief, said that if the dam failed, it could cause the worst flooding officials have seen downstream since 1994.

At least one resident says he won't budge.

Robert Ross, 42, an Army retiree, said he has lived in the area on and off since 1981. He said residents are accustomed to flooding, and he will not be leaving.

"If a hurricane can't get me out, a flood won't," he said. "Folks down here are like river rats. We're used to the floods."

KHOU-TV

Crews work to secure a barge that broke loose due to the rising water on the Trinity River.

Barnes said the city has done its own calculations and he doesn't think the river will rise as high as 29 feet, though residents should assume otherwise.

"We feel comfortable," Barnes said. "We will not reach a critical mass stage for the majority of the city of Liberty. I just don't think it's going to happen."

Barnes said the city of 8,300 is prepared because it built a 34-foot levee after the 1994 flooding. The river flows through the city.

The affected residential area is known as the South Liberty Oil Fields, which is an undeveloped low-lying area with dirt roads, trailers, modest homes and residents accustomed to flooding.

It was not decided if the evacuation would be mandatory or voluntary, or where people would go. The town has lost power and local churches and structures will be hot and uncomfortable.