Weld County Public Works officials are wrapping up efforts to clear debris along the Poudre River. They're anticipating higher-than-normal flows resulting from melting snowpack.
Crews are inspecting bridges and looking for fallen debris that could block the spring runoff. That’s because some estimates show the river flowing 6,000 cubic feet per second, about 1,700 more than last spring. David Bauer, an engineer for the county, says teams are trying to anticipate which spots along the river might flood nearby roads.
“So what we’ve done is cut some of those trees in smaller pieces,” he says. “So bridges will function properly and [some] bridges may not have to be closed.”
Last year, roads in rural areas outside of Greeley were closed due to flooding. In 2010, snowpack runoff peaked the first two weeks of June.
