Four Dubois County roads remain closed after high water recedes

Four Dubois County roads remained closed June 23 after high water from Hunley Creek and Bruner Creek, cutting the county’s active flood-related shutdowns from seven the day before but still leaving important local connectors unusable. The closures were concentrated in District 3 and Patoka Township, where water continued to disrupt the roads people use for school runs, farm traffic, work commutes and everyday deliveries.

The Dubois County Highway Department said the roads still closed were CR 400 South east of US 231, CR 130 West north of CR 400 South, Old Road 64 west of Patoka Road and 1st Street in Huntingburg west of CR 75 West. Those routes sit near low-lying water and serve as links between homes, farms and county highways, so each closure forced drivers onto longer detours.

At the same time, several roads had reopened since the previous report, including CR 75 West, CR 660 South, CR 200 West and Ferdinand Road Northwest. Districts 1 and 2 had no active closures in the June 23 update, a sign that conditions were improving even as the remaining flooded stretches stayed off limits.

The shift from seven closures to four showed progress, but it also underscored how quickly county roads can become chokepoints when creek levels rise. Earlier in the week, the county had reported seven closed roads tied to water from Hunley Creek, Bruner Creek, Indian Creek, Short Creek and Valley Head Water, with the heaviest impacts centered in Patoka Township. By June 23, the situation had narrowed, but the roads that remained shut still carried the day-to-day burden for nearby residents and businesses.

The flooding was part of a larger stretch of severe weather across Indiana. On June 19, Gov. Mike Braun issued an emergency disaster declaration for 63 Indiana counties after flooding, severe weather, tornadic activity and a derecho that hit from June 9 through June 18. The National Weather Service office in Paducah continued to show flood warnings and advisories in the region on June 23 and June 24, keeping pressure on already wet ground in Dubois County.

County motorists were again urged to avoid flooded roads and never try to drive through standing water. With June’s storms still leaving their mark on local roads, the next benchmark for residents is full reopening, not just another step down from seven closures to four.