Mother Nature unleashed near-historic floods on Hoosiers in early April. INDOT responded to the storms to aid the motoring public.
From April 2-6, an atmospheric river reigned over the state, producing the highest rain totals in decades.
Ahead of the rain, INDOT operations crews proactively cleared drains and prepared equipment to close flooded state roads as conditions dictated. Throughout the event, INDOT closed dozens of roadways because of high water, including I-65 in Bartholemew County, I-69 in Daviess and Greene counties, and I-70 in Putnam County. The number of INDOT highways closed because of high water peaked at 48 on April 6; it wasn’t until April 18 that the final closure was lifted (2½ miles of State Road 69 in Posey County). Columbus, French Lick, and Shelbyville were just a few of the many Indiana communities impacted by the high water.
INDOT also teamed with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), Indiana National Guard, and Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) to form Operation Sandcastle to help Hoosier communities with sandbags to help control the flooding. INDOT supplied 2,400 tons of sand, typically used in Winter Operations, to communities that had reached out to the IDHS.
During Operation Sandcastle, INDOT personnel used 400 tons of sand at each of these INDOT facilities: Bedford, Chandler, Indianapolis, Jasper, Seymour, and Vincennes. INDOT employees operated a loader with a bucket to load sandbag machines with sand. DOC labor filled and palletized the sandbags. INDOT workers operated a loader with forks to move the pallets on the grounds and onto receiving vehicles, which was manned by Guardsmen and IDHS personnel to deliver to each location.
From April 4-6 during Operation Sandcastle, more than 80,000 sandbags were distributed to hard-hit areas, including southern Indiana communities on the Ohio River.
INDOT helped in unconventional ways during the flooding, as well. We innovatively used three snowplow trucks in tandem to push water and debris off U.S. 31 north of Edinburgh in southern Johnson County.
