Road closures caused by Cheyenne River flooding

EAGLE BUTTE — Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Harold C. Frazier has declared that a state of emergency still exists on the Cheyenne River reservation. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has closed several BIA routes and declared all BIA roads with culverts to be in critical condition.

Recent winter, spring and summer storms have devastated the reservation causing historic flooding and infrastructure loss. Multiple culverts have washed out in multiple locations as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe experiences one of the wettest years on record with hazardous waterways deteriorating already aging and failing infrastructure.

The closing of multiple federal roads has isolated hundreds of square miles of reservation from safely accessing passable roads. Recent rainfalls have flooded bridges and the Tribal Chairman is concerned that those bridges may be compromised and unsafe.

Failures on roads have already caused fatalities in the region and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s monitoring of bridges and culverts has been the difference in avoiding fatalities on CRST reservation roads.

Chairman Frazier stated, “No one grasps the magnitude of the damage to the roads here on the reservation. Everybody looks at the numbers and only accept the numbers that minimize the impact to avoid taking serious actions. The Bureau of Indian Affairs are responsible for these roads and the lack improvements, or even repairs, show a complete lack of leadership. The BIA is leaderless and it shows in our deteriorating roads that are a danger to my people.”

Visit Original Source