Heavy rain in Lexington causes high water, road closure, traffic problems
Heavy rain overnight and into the morning prompted a flash flood warning in Lexington Thursday and caused problems for drivers.
Lexington police responded to 22 total traffic collisions, 21 motorist assists and 19 traffic hazards before 10 a.m. Thursday. Injury accidents weren’t abnormally high in the morning.
Winchester Road between Walton Avenue and Midland Avenue was temporarily flooded and shut down Thursday morning, according to the Lexington Traffic Management Center. For a time, inbound traffic was diverted onto Walton Avenue and outbound traffic was diverted to Midland Place. Water overflowed onto Midland Place not long after Winchester Road flooded.
The left lanes of Winchester in both directions were reopened at roughly 11 a.m.
“Any form of inclement weather, heavy rain included, impacts driver safety,” said Jordan Saas, a battalion chief with the Lexington Fire Department. “Drivers need to leave more space between cars, ensure that their vehicles are well maintained in the areas of windshield wipers and tread on the tires, and most importantly, they should never attempt to cross a water-covered road.”
A vehicle can be lifted by less than 6 inches of water, causing a driver to be left stranded in a “dangerous situation,” Saas said.
The Lexington Traffic Management Center advised drivers to “be safe and find an alternate route” if they encounter high water on any Lexington roads Thursday.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 10:36 AM.