I-70 Flood: (Satellite, see images below for road closures.)
Ungated Dam: (Satellite) This is also the Ohio & Erie Canal to the North.
Gated Dam: (Satellite)
O&E Canal to the South: (Satellite, the canal is still used to Lancaster Street. It grows algae for a couple more miles.)
Note the timestamp in the upper-left corner. I used Street View to confirm that exit 129 is OH-79 or Hebron Road, which goes to Buckeye Lake.
 |
| Meteorologist Chris Vickers posted I-70 CLOSED: Record flooding on the South Fork Licking River near Buckeye Lake has flooded and closed I-70 east of Columbus. The river is still rising and will pass record flood stage Friday afternoon. ODOT says the interstate will remain closed until water recedes. Sandi Douglass: This is definitely not the first time I-70 has been closed due to flooding. I grew up in Licking County and remember lots of flooding from the Buckeye Lake area. Tim Clark: just got off of 40, why in the hell wouldn’t the State have someone directing traffic at all the red lights? [Several comments indicating other years that I-70 was closed because of flooding. Although one case was because of a dam problem rather than because of excessive rain. I recognize Licking River because its mouth with the Muskingum River is under the Y-Bridge in Zanesville, OH.] |
 |
| The Columbus Dispatch posted The Ohio Department of Transportation is currently studying flood mitigation for I-70 near Buckeye Lake, an ODOT spokesperson said. bit.ly/45Gmwp4 [paywall] 📸 Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch Tom Wolfe: 30 years of study, look at it, NOW fix it and add 3 lanes! America’s highway. [I just saw a video that Missouri is going to rebuild I-70 with three lanes all the way across the state.] |
This (Aug 21, 2026) is the second day I looked, and I-70 is still closed. (I didn't save the image the first day I looked, which is when it first closed.) And look at the traffic jams on US-40.
 |
| Satellite |
Aug 22, 2026: only the ramps for southbound traffic on Hebron Road are closed. The stream labeled South Fork Licking River is downstream of the Ungated Dam. The little treeline threading its way North through the intersection is the stream that is downstream from the Gated Dam.
 |
| Satellite |
 |
| Meteorologist Nick Dunn posted I-70 STILL CLOSED: As of 2PM, water still covers all of I-70 in Licking County near Buckeye Lake. The South Fork Licking River continues to remain well above flood stage this afternoon even though it has crested. The river was about 6 inches away from tying the record for the highest crest. It will likely be late this evening or sometime tomorrow morning before all lanes of I-70 can be safely reopened. This is only the 3rd time in the last 10 years this closure has happened, with 2020 being the most recent time. - 2:02 PM 8/21/2026 Becky Warner: Only? Three times in 10 years is three times too often. And you wouldn't believe the smell from the rotting vegetation after the water table goes back down. [Other comments reacted to the use of "only."] Jeremy Moses: It was closer than that. The record crest was 882.89'. All indications are that the river hit 882.82', which is only 0.84" from the record! |
 |
| All Things Ohio posted 🌊 Central Ohio woke up under water after heavy overnight rain turned highways into rivers and forced an entire village to clear out. The Ohio Department of Transportation shut down Interstate 70 in both directions in Licking County near Buckeye Lake on Aug. 20, closing eastbound lanes past State Route 158 at Kirkersville and westbound lanes at U.S. 40, with the closure expected to last into the following day. 🚧 The South Fork Licking River was forecast to crest at 883.5 feet, a level the National Weather Service said would be a record, surpassing the 882.9 feet mark set in March 2020. The Village of Buckeye Lake ordered a mandatory evacuation starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 for all properties west of State Route 79, in effect for 24 hours unless the mayor lifted it sooner. In Columbus, city crews activated the Franklinton floodwall as river levels climbed, firefighters carried out water rescues during the early morning hours, and a stretch of Interstate 71 between I-70 and I-270 was closed after high water covered the roadway. ⚠️ James O'Donovan: Just to close again Saturday as another storm approaching and heat will make it worse in rain fall. [I noticed that Google Maps displayed a "Severe Thunderstorm Watch" when I accessed it Saturday, Aug 22.] |
This stretch of the Ohio & Erie Canal is a summit. They built Buckeye Lake to supply water during droughts.
Ungated Dam
Note that the O&E Canal follows the Bank Road and then the Canal Road to the north. The canal remains intact until it gets to Hebron, OH.
 |
| Fairfield County Emergency Management Agency posted Following the recent flooding from heavy rainfall and runoff, we understand why the attached images raised some concerns about a possible dam breach. Thank you to those who saw something that looked concerning and brought it to the attention of public safety. We’d rather have you ask than overlook something that could be a real issue. We want to reassure everyone that there is no dam breach and no safety risk. The appearance is being caused by weeds and organic material growing across the surface of the spillway, which is changing how the water disperses as it flows over the dam. We appreciate everyone looking out for their neighbors and speaking up when something doesn’t look right. That’s exactly the right thing to do! |
Gated Dam
 |
| Street View, May 2025 |
Bonus
Beaver Run Road in Pataskala is broke.
 |
| Kyle Stevens commented on a post Here is a photo from Pataskala |
The closed segment of Beaver Road crosses two streams. It is the one I pinned because Street View shows it uses a culvert. The eastern stream has a bridge.
 |
| Satellite |
No comments:
Post a Comment