MUSKOGEE COUNTY, Okla. — Muskogee County just recently accepted a near-$10 million grant to raise the elevation of a major connector road between the communities of Ft. Gibson and Okay.
This comes after homes, farmland, and roads were under water back in 2019 from the historic flood in northeast Oklahoma.
Shawn Selby didn’t have a choice. He was forced to evacuate from his home near Okay River Road.
“We went to Inola and got right in the middle of a tornado," Selby said. "We had to get in the bathtub that night and everything else.”
It go so bad that at one point, flood water was 10 feet above elevated train tracks nearby. 2 News Oklahoma met up with Muskogee County Commissioner Ken Doke in the same spot.
“We would significantly be underwater if this was May 2019, he said. "We would also get washed away. We’d be in the Mississippi River by now.”
Doke was happy to report that the Oklahoma Dept. of Commerce gave them a nearly $10 million grant to raise its elevation in spots. That way farmers, homeowners and drivers won’t have to go through another flood fiasco again.
“I have friends that lost everything," Selby said.
If Okay River Road was out of commission, like it was for months in the summer of 2019, Doke says drivers would have to go about 40 minutes out of the way to get to those communities.
“Every time the river gets out of its banks, this road is inundated," Doke said.
He says a completion date hasn’t been set yet, but once it's done, he says it will feel like a county highway, rather than a county road.
Trending Stories:
- 'I am thrilled out of my mind:' Henry Winkler meets Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- Man speaks out after girlfriend killed in Jenks crash
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- South Tulsa Ida Red closed after SUV drives into building
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
