DETROIT (WWJ) - With several inches of rain expected this weekend in metro Detroit, MDOT is bracing for the possibility of road flooding.
Spokesperson Diane Cross said their biggest priority will be monitoring pump houses along the freeways. She says the worst area for flooding is the Southfield Freeway under I-96.
"We have pump houses on all of the freeways that are low level that go below ground level, like the Southfield M-39 under I-96 goes way very far deep," Cross told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "We have a number of pump houses on M-39 but we have maybe roughly 150 pump houses throughout Metro Detroit on the freeways to pump water off of the road."
If there is a power failure, MDOT brings out generators so the pumps can still work. Extra crews will also be on standby in the event that flooding does occur.
"We have people that are on call 24 hours a day all the time. Because it's January, right? So, normally we're dealing with salt, snow, that kind of thing, so that is something that we monitor frequently. We work with Michigan State Police, we've got our dispatchers down at our facility that watch all the cameras, so we're a 24 hour business," said Cross.
The rain has also forced MDOT crews to reschedule work that was supposed to take place this weekend.
"It is a lot of water. It has already canceled -- we had a weekend closure planned for I-94 in metro Detroit, a couple things we are trying to wrap up between I-96 and Michigan Avenue, we had to cancel that knowing full well with all that rain coming in that we would not be able to work," said Cross.
Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw, meanwhile, urges drivers who encounter water over the roadway to remember this motto: "Turn around, don't drown."
"Just don't drive in there at all," Shaw said, speaking live on WWJ on Friday. "If you do see any standing water, which we do expext to see on freeways and roads, anytime that you have this much rain coming in."
Shaw said if you get stuck inside your vehicle you should stay in the car if it's safe, and call 911. If you need to get out, exit through your window and wait for help.
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