100 Fleming homes cut off by post-TS Debby flooding

About 100 homes in Fleming near Mt. Olivet Church Road have been isolated by flooding as the Canoochee River rises Friday, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

Aerial video from the Liberty County Emergency Management Authority shows two long stretches of the road completely covered by water near Raccoon Branch.

Ocean Highway in Bryan County, also known as US Highway 17 and State Route 25, is closed in both directions  from Ford Avenue in Richmond Hill to the Chatham County line until at least noon Saturday, says the Georgia Department of Transportation.

On Thursday evening, the road was passable, although the water level in the surrounding swamp near Love’s Seafood and the public boat ramp was nearly at road level.

Flooding has also shut down traffic in both directions on State Route 144 north of Fort Stewart in Liberty County.

Georgia Department of Transportation crews have patched a large area of erosion on the eastbound side of the U.S. Highway 84 overpass at the CSX Railroad tracks near McIntosh and Midway.

GDOT District 5 spokeswoman Jill Nagel told The Current the asphalt patch has stabilized the embankment and that “a more permanent solution will be determined if needed.”

GDOT is also keeping an eye on State Route 144 between Fort Stewart and I-95, which she said “is currently closed due to water on the roadway. We can only determine what repairs, if any, will be necessary once the water recedes. Georgia DOT continues to monitor road conditions associated with Tropical Storm Debby and the rise and receding flood waters.”

Nagel said that GDOT’s “top priority is the safety. We remind motorists not to go around barricades for their safety.”

A new traffic signal at McLarry’s Curve at the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 and Old Sunbury Road was supposed to go live on Wednesday. Crews in cherry-pickers were working on the lights Thursday morning, and around midday Friday, the signals still had not been activated.

The Board of Commissioners’ next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 15. The agenda includes three zoning requests — including a controversial item on a more than 211-acre development on Colonels Island that has raised residents’ ire.

The Board of Assessors will hear a presentation on the personal property audit from Traylor Business Services, Inc. You can read previous presentations on various auditing subjects on the company’s website , one of which points out the importance of making sure a member of the Board of Assessors sits on the industrial development authority. It also covers important points those authorities should include in PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreements with businesses that set up shop in the county — things like unreported inventories and missed freeport exemptions — that could put more money in county coffers.