More thunderstorms and rain during the past week caused additional damage to Boone County roads and bridges, according to Bob Carey, county emergency manager.
Approaches to two more county road bridges were washed out in the St. Edward area after the Beaver Creek swelled with heavy rains June 4 and again June 7-8.
St. Edward had water in the streets, and some basements were flooded due to the rains. Throughout the county, rainfall amounts varied from two to six inches or more.
Rail Bridge Outage
A railroad bridge approach southeast of St. Edward was washed out and has been closed to traffic since May 29, meaning that no trains could travel across it.
Andy Roberts, manager of the VeraSun Albion ethanol plant, said Cargill is responsible for marketing and transportation of ethanol from the local plant. “They have been doing a good job of finding alternative transportation for us,” he said.
There has been no change in ethanol production at the plant as yet due to the rail bridge outage, Roberts said.
Nebraska Central Railroad operates the branch line, providing service to St. Edward and Albion. A spokesman for the railroad could not be reached for comment about the schedule for bridge repair.
