Rhoda, Meadowbrook street repairs could take months

Sep. 24—CANTON — In the 47 years Dan Kelly has lived off Rhoda Street in Canton, he's seen the area flood on two separate years, 2004 and 2021.

Luckily his house was spared both times, but a stream so small it could be stepped over turned into a river Aug. 17.

Rain began falling about 10 a.m. that Tuesday, and by 2:30 p.m. Meadowbrook and Rhoda streets were filled with water.

"The water was still in the banks," Kelly said, "but the culvert wouldn't hold it. The water came down so fast and with such force it cut a hole through the road."

It wasn't water from the Pigeon River that's about half a mile away that did the damage, but drainage from small creeks up Burnette Cove, Dutch Cove and Kim's Cove that did the damage, Kelly said.

The same thing happened in 2004, he said, and an even smaller culvert back then was replaced with a larger one — but it didn't hold either.

Because water never entered Kelly's home, insurance won't cover the damages in his yard where 100 tons of riprap he put in 17 years ago remains, but wasn't nearly enough to protect his yard from flood water damage.

Canton Manager Nick Scheuer said the repair project will be done in conjunction with FEMA Public Assistance and potentially flood mitigation funds.

"We have engineers developing preliminary solutions and will be working to get that project as well as other town facilities and infrastructure into the queue as fast as possible," Scheuer said.

He anticipates that it will be at least three months before construction starts on Rhoda Street project, one that is estimated to cost $600,000 and will take two to three months to complete.