By Staff
Staff Reports
U.S. Highway 264 remains closed west of Washington due to high water, and this section of highway will likely stay shut down at least through Friday evening, reads a news release from Beaufort County government and the City of Washington.
“As of 4:00 pm, Tranters Creek has given us no opportunity to evaluate opening Highway 264 to any traffic,” Woody Jarvis, district engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, is quoted as saying in the release.
“We’re hoping the creek will push its water through within the next several hours in order that we might open the Highway when conditions allow it,” Jarvis said.
The city assisted with the inspection of flooded homes in areas where residents had been displaced, the county announced.
Some 30 to 50 families had been forced from their homes by flooding, said County Manager Paul Spruill.
John Pack, the county’s emergency-management coordinator, warned residents who live along Tranters Creek to keep a watchful eye on rising waters through the afternoon and night.
“Very little data is available to help us predict the continuing rise in Tranters Creek,” Pack said. “As a result, we urge residents to keep a close eye on slowly rising waters in the event they should decide to seek shelter before dark.”