Wake County cleans up after Hurricane Matthew

Crews continue to clear debris from roadways and restore traffic lights around Wake County in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Most of the county’s heavily traveled roads that were flooded over the weekend had reopened by Monday afternoon. But local officials hesitated to put a timeline on when all roads would reopen and all traffic lights would be restored, saying a lot of the work depends on Duke Energy.

About 62,000 Duke Energy customers in Wake were still without power Monday, according to the company. In some neighborhoods, power might not be restored until Friday.

Wake County didn’t see as much flooding from the weekend’s storm as many areas in Eastern North Carolina. About 7.5 inches of rain fell Saturday in the heart of Raleigh, while some parts of the state saw up to 16 inches.

But the rainfall and fierce winds in Wake toppled trees and power lines and made a mess in many neighborhoods.

Late Monday, the state Department of Transportation reported about a dozen road closures across the county, from Gorman Street in Raleigh to Fowler Road near Zebulon. DOT’s list doesn’t include streets maintained by municipalities.

Drivers are urged to call DOT’s 511 telephone system for travel information, said spokesman Steve Abbott.

“It tells them which roads are open and which are closed,” he said.

Most of Raleigh’s major roads and streets are open, said city spokesman John Boyette. But the city on Monday reported traffic light outages at several busy intersections, including on Rock Quarry Road, New Bern Avenue, Western Boulevard, Oberlin Road and Glenwood Avenue.

When traffic lights aren’t working, motorists should treat intersections like four-way stops.

In Wake Forest, heavy rain caused part of Rogers Road to collapse. DOT will likely need more than a week to repair it, Abbott said.

In downtown Cary, South Harrison Avenue was blocked where it intersects with Dry Avenue. Work crews in Fuquay-Varina were blocking traffic on parts of Angier Road and Stewart Street to deal with erosion.

In Wendell, Edgemont Road remains closed for repairs near N.C. 97. West Haywood Street was closed temporarily while crews work on power lines.

N.C. 97 will be closed for at least a couple of weeks in Zebulon, said Chris Ray, the town’s public works director.

Yard waste

With dozens of trees and thousands of branches down across the county, residents are urged to take their yard waste to the curb for pickup or to local disposal centers.

Raleigh and most Wake towns plan to operate their normal yard-waste collection schedules.

Through Saturday, Raleigh is waiving its fees for residents who bring tree debris to the city’s Yard Waste Center at 900 N. New Hope Road. The center is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Raleigh residents can also call CityWorks at 919-996-3245 by Oct. 17 to have crews pick up yard waste that’s especially bulky.

Daycare, showers

On Tuesday, Raleigh plans to offer free hot showers to residents who lost power during the storm at 14 community centers throughout the city.

Residents can pay $10 for day care service at four community centers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday: Jaycee Park on Wade Avenue, Green Road, John Chavis and Abbots Creek.

From 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, the city also plans to host a free cookout at Chavis community park.

Sewage overflows

The storm caused 15 sewer overflows in Raleigh, and the water levels stabilized in all but six by Monday, said Robert Massengill, public utilities director.

Massengill said his department is working with the state to determine how much sewage diluted with stormwater has been spilled out of Raleigh’s system.

Meanwhile, Massengill said Raleigh’s drinking water is safe. The city provides drinking water to several Wake municipalities, including Garner, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon.

“General overview is that all of our water treatment plants remained operational throughout the event and they continue to provide safe drinking water to the whole service area,” Massengill said.

Raleigh is advising residents in the Rolesville and Yates Mill areas to use their toilets sparingly, if at all, because power outages left some waste pumps without power.

As waters have receded, so has the amount of sewage flow, but some sewer pipes running along Crabtree and Walnut creeks as well as the Neuse River are still partially submerged and taking on water, Massengill said.

“We don’t have any figures right now, and we were discussing how do you calculate the volume, so I’m not certain that we will be able to calculate the volume when most of your main lines are underwater,” he said.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Wake County cleans up after Hurricane Matthew."