The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office shut down a portion of Route 60 between Jamestown and Frewsburg Thursday due to flooding from Stillwater Creek. Deputies say at times, 2 to 3 feet of water was running over the road and the flooding turned the parking lot of Southern Auto Exchange essentially into a lake.
Water rose as high as the top of car tires in the parking lot. Owner Brian Adelgren says it is only the second time his property has flooded in the 11 years he's had his shop there. Ice jams in the creek, along with melting snow and heavy rain made for a bad combination, according to Adelgren.
"I'd like to think that at some point there would be some sort of solution that could be engineered someway to stop the ice from jamming up over here and letting the water get as deep as it does," he said.
That sentiment is shared by Menash Petscher, who works across the road at Floors at Your Door.
"If there's something that could be done by--if it's the Corps of Engineers or whoever does any of that planning," he said. "It would be nice to kind of take care of the people who help support the community."
Last time his parking lot and auto shop flooded, Adelgren said it cost between 30 and 40 thousand dollars in damage. This time he was able to get any customer property to safety before the water rose and said it'll mostly just be a clean up this time around.
"Better than it could have been," he said. "In every mess there's a message. We just thank God everybody is okay."
