VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - The city of Valdosta confirmed that emergency repairs are set to start on roads that have been closed since historic flooding in November. But there is hope that some business owners and residents may be able to return to their regular routine soon.

For the past two months, Gornto Road, Country Club Road, River Street, Cypress Street, and Lamar Street have been closed at various times causing multiple delays and detours.

Ben O’Dowd, Valdosta City Engineer said, “We had a washout on Cypress Street which is relatively low volume, but we did have to close it and we are going emergency repairs as well. Country Club and River Street. Later on we discovered the wash had worsen on the Gornto Road bridge.”

But the repairs are expected to alleviate future issues.

O’Dowd said, “Some of the repairs we are doing is return to the existing conditions to reopen the road and some of the repairs were alleviating a known upstreaming capacity issue.”

The bridge at Gornto closed right before Christmas changing traffic patterns for thousands of people visiting and shopping causing businesses in the area to worry about how they would do business this holiday season.

Katie Watson said, “We were so excited we have a great Christmas season and everything was going well then the road closure happened.”

Watson owner of Chez What moved her business to Gornto Road after her building was destroyed in Hurricane Helene. Just two months later she was halted by another kind of storm.

“We said you know what happened…and then people started sending me the pictures and so I came outside and saw the signs I didn’t even know it happened until business just stopped," she said.

Watson and other businesses around her have been putting up signs, posting on social media, and encouraging people to come shop despite the inconvenience.

Watson said. “When we first opened people said I never even came to the old store, I saw it…it was just drive-through traffic and so we are missing that. As soon as this road can open up the better.”

After hearing from those impacted businesses, the city added additional signs to encourage shoppers to visit local businesses.

“In response to these delays and difficulties, understand that we are not sitting on our hands with this and we are moving as quickly as we can. But these things take time,” O’Dowd, city engineer, said.

The city began emergency repairs on Lamar Street, on Friday, Jan. 3.

They said there is not an estimated time on when Gornto Road will begin construction.

The city council approved bids for emergency repairs on River Street and Country Road plans will be announced soon.

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