BILLINGS — The Billings airport measured 2.02 inches of rainfall on Thursday, making it the 17th-wettest day in 90 years of record keeping.
That rain caused major issues throughout town, flooding basements, underpasses, and roadways.
In years past, the Sixth Street underpass constantly required clean-up following heavy rainfall.
But during Thursday’s spring storm, no major problems were reported.
"Yesterday's storm was unique in its way. But with all that moisture, we did experience this project did hold up very well," said Joe Leligdowicz, the Underpass Avenue project manager, on Friday.
That's thanks to the Montana Department of Transportation and DOWL’s Underpass Avenue Project that began last year.
"We had new improvements in the storm drain systems, new pumps installed, and of course, the detention ponds were a major factor in preventing flooding that would have happened yesterday for sure if we didn't make any improvements in this project," Leligdowiczv said. "The reason why we chose this project was because of all the issues we had in the past with the flooding."
The project is nearly complete.
"We are planning on coming back to construct the project, finish up the remaining items on this project in a short period of time," Leligdowiczv said. "Before you know it, this project will be all finished and open up to the public."
DOWL wanted to thank the public for its patience during construction.
"This is a heavily trafficked area of Billings, as we all know. Working on our project with so many moving pieces and a pretty significant upgrade to the stormwater system was really impactful," said Megan McLean, communications coordinator for DOWL, on Friday. "We are just so appreciative to the public for their patience and cooperation and collaboration throughout this project. We know that it wasn't a convenient project to live through, and it definitely had an impact on the traveling public. But yesterday's storm is a good example of why this project was so important and the benefits that we all get to experience from it."
But the North 13th Street underpass was a sharp contrast. It had to be shut down Thursday afternoon after 24 inches of water pooled, disabling one vehicle.
On the residential side of things, Alpha Omega Disaster Restoration was busy Friday.
"It certainly was not as bad as it was last year," said Jordan Kroll, a project manager for Alpha Omega Disaster Restoration, on Friday. "We still got quite a few calls."
Kroll said it was nothing compared to last June’s flood event in town when nearly all restoration companies had to start waiting lists.
The company currently has around 25 active projects, mostly for roof leaks and flooded window wells.
"Anytime you have a roof leak... you want to look at the insulation in your attic and make sure that it's not compressed and soaking wet... If you have a soaking wet pillow up above that sheetrock, putting a fan on the drywall doesn't really do any good," said Kroll. "With the window well... inside that wall cavity, as the water passes through the insulation, it tends to compress it. Then again, it's a little bit like you have a sopping wet pillow inside your wall cavity. What you can do, is you remove the baseboard, you just cut a little tiny inspection hole below that baseboard line and get your hand in there and feel the insulation. If it's wet and compacted, you're going to want to open up that wall and remove it. If it's still light and fluffy, you should be able to put some air on it."
Kroll had advice for those worried about the next flood event.
"I think it's important for homeowners to know that a lot of times, not all the time, but a lot of the time, rainwater is out of pocket," Kroll said. "Insurance won't cover that. I highly encourage everybody to look into their insurance policy and see if that's something that's going to be covered or not."
To learn more about the Underpass Avenue Project, click here.
To learn more about Alpha Omega Disaster Restoration, click here.
