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Resident urges permanent closure measures after vehicle got stuck in flooded Brown Lake approach
Summary
A Green Lake Road resident told commissioners that high water at Brown Lake has repeatedly allowed motorists to drive into hazardous conditions; the resident asked the county to install more durable barriers; county engineers said crash-worthy barriers and permanent closures require engineering work and legal considerations.
A resident who lives on Green Lake Road recounted a near-fatal incident in which a teenager’s pickup went off the bank and into Brown Lake after failing to turn around on the flooded access. The resident said temporary wooden barricades at the access are routinely bypassed or knocked down and urged the county to install permanent barriers — for example, snow gates or concrete barriers — to prevent future incidents.
"Last night at midnight, I had a 16 year old boy walk in. He said, can I borrow your tractor? And I said, no," the resident said, describing pulling two teenagers and two girls out of a pickup that had its front end in the lake. The resident said the existing boards are too easily moved and that vandals or drivers routinely get past them.
Josh Thompson, the county engineer, responded that gates and barriers introduce new safety and liability considerations. Thompson explained that any permanent closure or gate on a county road must be crash-worthy or must be placed behind a crash-worthy barrier; otherwise the county could introduce a hazard. He said signage and enforcement can help but that a robust engineering solution — which can include guardrails, properly sited barriers, or aligning closure points where a bypass is not possible — would be necessary for a durable remedy. Thompson also noted the county can post permanent warning signs and consider moving closure points to locations where bypass is less feasible.
Why it matters: Repeated flooding and the frequency of motorists attempting the flooded approach create a persistent public-safety risk. County officials said they will examine options but that implementing crash-tested barriers or realigning closure points will require engineering assessment and funding.
Next steps: County staff agreed to examine the access and consider options — signage upgrades, moving the legal closure point, crash-worthy barriers or other engineering solutions — and to report back to the resident and the board. Commissioners and staff discussed whether temporary additional signage or double barricades could be deployed pending a longer-term fix.
Ending: The board asked county staff to follow up with the resident and to explore immediate, low-cost signage changes along with a plan for any engineering work that would be needed for a permanent solution.
