HINDMAN, Ky. –
Engineer Soldiers from the Kentucky Army National Guard continued road work construction on county roads in Hindman and Hyden, Ky. on April 1, 2025.
Soldiers from Detachment 1, 149th Engineer Vertical Construction Company, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based out of Olive Hill worked to repair culverts, driveways and repair road shoulders in both Knott and Leslie Counties in conjunction with the countys’ Department of Transportation.
In Hindman, a team of four Soldiers were repairing driveway culverts that had completely washed away due to flooding. According to the engineers, the county helps maintain those driveways to a standard to keep water flowing and prevent more damage along the streams.
Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brock, a non-commissioned officer with the 299th Chemical company out of Burlington, is the liaison officer between Knott County and the Kentucky National Guard. Brock was in charge of directing the engineers on where their work was needed the most.
“The assessment we got when I arrived down here, according to the road department, was that the road department is responsible for 918 roads in total,” said Brock. “That covers 274.3 miles, and the surveys showed that 60 to 63 percent of the roads have been impacted.”
“Many of those roads were impassable due to waters still covering the roads, trees and debris blocking them, or were completely washed away. Also, there were 10 major bridges that were blocked when we first got down here.”
The roads being worked on that day were smaller, one-lane roads in the bottom of a holler, or valley low-lands in a completely rural area.
“Even though there are two main roads through town, these smaller roads are used by the community to cut through the hills to save time on their commute,” said Brock. “Even though they are small, they are essential roads that need to be repaired.”
The engineers are facing several difficulties as they are doing their work. Because of the rural area, curvy roads, and impacted traffic, it takes about an hour and 20 minutes to get the fill dirt and gravel from the local quarry to the work sites.
After the dirt and rock is dumped, it takes the engineers about 15 to 20 minutes to get the fill material in place. While they wait, they do what they can to help improve other parts of the road to prevent more flooding. That includes moving larger rocks and material already in place to areas the flowing water could erode the most.
Sgt. 1st Class Ron Clere, with the Det. 1, 149th, spoke about the topography of the locations they have been working at.
“A lot of these backroads are in the hollers, that is where the majority of the people in this county lives,” said Clere. “One lane road and the homes are at the bottom of these steep valleys. The drainage is about eight to ten feet wide, and the driveways of the homes are literal bridges over that small creek. Many of those have washed away completely.”
“I’ve seen people parking their cars in at the homes across the road and then carry their groceries through the creek to their homes.”
Clere also added that almost every road for residential homes follows a waterway. As the water begins to rise and then flow suddenly, it erodes away the dirt and rock underneath the roads that leads to collapse.
“But the people that live along these roads have been extremely happy to see Army vehicles, especially the dump trucks, skid steers, and backhoes working to rebuild their ways out,” said Clere. “They come out offering us drinks and hot food. It’s incredible to see their support.”