VIDEO: McDuffie County road washed out by recent storm

DEARING, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - McDuffie County residents have a big problem to deal with following those heavy storms.

Flooding and strong winds have completely taken out parts of Hobbs Mill Road.

You can even see the massive drainage pipe pushed away into the tree line. That big hole is going to cause a big problem shortly. With around four to five inches of rain over the weekend in McDuffie county, Sweetwater Creek has essentially turned into a river.

Folks nearby say this is not the first time they’ve had issues with this road. This is not the first time Hobbs Mill Road has been closed. Six weeks ago, it was unusable due to erosion. We talked to the county manager to see what McDuffie County is doing about the ongoing infrastructure issues.

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Sweetwater Creek is transformed into rushing rapids as mother nature leaves behind pieces of Hobbs Mill Road.

“This has been flooded through the years. We went over, and we know to go around,” said Kathy and Shirly Couch.

There’s no other choice but to turn one way. It’s leaving some neighbors concerned.

“The fire station is right here, so now if they drag their feet with this, it might impact the timing of people getting the fire help,” they said.

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Like the rain, this road was already on the county’s radar. Jason Smith is the community development director. He said, “We knew that this failure would happen, and here it is.”

The big tubes were washed away back in February, and dirt was used to fill the gaps.

“When something like this happens, there’s not much you can do but watch,” he said.

It’s like peeling back layers of an onion or watching a cat chase its tail.

“You hit one, and there will be another one. If you hit one, there will be another one. In rural communities you have the extra challenge of trying to pay for things like this,” said Smith.

There’s no timeline for a fix.

Kathy and Shirly Couch said: “We hope they don’t drag their feet. Yeah. Yeah.”

Engineers are working on a way to fight against mother nature.

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