County engineers concerned about flooding potential

As the heavy rain continues, county engineers are growing more concerned.

The flooding has already closed three roads and made certain areas of the city difficult to navigate.

County engineers are looking into the possibility of closing some bridges if the rain doesn’t stop soon.

It all started back on Saturday, September 1st, when Lincoln was hit by a thunderstorm that didn’t seem to want to let up.

Fast forward three days, and the rain is still alive and well in Lancaster county.

County engineers are comparing the start of September to the flood of 2015.

"We are now at flood stage at many locations across Lancaster county. We do have a few roads that have water over the road that are closed. We are seeing a lot of debris come down that was still leftover from the 2015 flood, in these water ways," said County engineer Pam Dingman.

Some areas of the county have already received up to seven inches of rain through Tuesday.

As a result, several roads in Lancaster county are closed due to flooding.

14th from Roca road to Saltillo, southwest 2nd from West Roca to West Sprauge, Olive Creek road from southwest 42nd to southwest 58th to name a few.

Barricades are up along those roads and officials are warning drivers to not go around them..

"Last time we had flooding like this in 2015 we did over 80 water rescues. It really took away from our other emergency services so we’d rather see people stay out of the water," said Dingman.

Sandbag crews are working all over the county, and additional signs are being made for road closures or water over the road as needed.

There are reports that bodies of water such Holmes lake and salt creek are up by as much as five feet already, pouring over onto sidewalks and grassy areas.

"As it continues to rain, even at this moment, we continue to be concerned that were not really getting a break for these facilities to go ahead and get down to where they are empty or near empty again so that they have the storage for the storm water," said Dingman.

Dingman says if the rain continues, there will be a higher chance the city will have to close some bridges for public safety.

The city has an updated list of road and bridge closure on the county website.

If you come across a road with water running over the top of it, you are advised to turn around immediately and call the non–emergency police line at

402-441–6000.