"Vitebskavtodor" organizes round-the-clock monitoring of water level rise in the bridge area during the flood

February 28, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotovets - BELTA /. RUP "Vitebskavtodor" has developed an action plan and determined the scope of priority work to overcome spring mudslides and manage floodwaters, which must be carried out at facilities in the Vitebsk region. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the enterprise's administration. A flood control commission has been established at "Vitebskavtodor" to ensure interaction between the road service and the emergency commissions of the regional and district executive committees, as well as the regional civil defense headquarters. In accordance with the plan, round-the-clock monitoring of water levels is to be organized in the Vitebsk region, for which water level gauges have been installed on 248 bridges. To ensure the safety of bridge structures, measures have been developed to determine ice thickness and organize ice breaking near bridge piers across large rivers, including, if necessary, blasting operations involving the Ministry of Emergency Situations units. In addition, all road organizations of "Vitebskavtodor" have created a necessary stock of construction materials, as well as fuel and lubricants required to ensure the passage of spring floods and ice drift on rivers, including for responding to possible emergencies. During the spring flood period, the load-bearing capacity of road pavement structures sharply decreases due to the moistening of clay and loam soils and under the influence of increased axial loads from motor vehicles. To prevent the destruction of republican road surfaces, restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles on republican roads are introduced annually in the Vitebsk region. Information on the imposed restrictions and changes in the timing of restrictions, as well as on recommended routes, will be published in the media. In the Vitebsk region, the opening of rivers from ice is predicted for mid-March, and with the onset of warming, a rise in water levels and river flooding with floodwaters reaching the floodplain and inundating houses and yards in Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, as well as a number of other district centers are possible. In total, 790 houses with a population of about 2.3 thousand people in 17 settlements may fall into the zone of possible flooding by flood and meltwaters. In addition, a number of agricultural facilities may be flooded. To collect information on the development of the flood in the region, 21 hydrological posts of "Vitebskoblgidromet" have been deployed. -0-