Atchison County residents are returning, one step at a time, to a sense of normalcy in the wake of flooding that has isolated the Northwest Missouri county in numerous ways.

On Tuesday evening, authorities with Atchison County 9-1-1/Emergency Management announced they’ve reopened US-136 highway all the way to Brownville, Nebraska.

Officials say only one lane is open along the Missouri River bridge at Brownville.

The road has been closed for months.

Floodwaters pouring through a breached levee scoured huge holes in the highway, removing entire sections, some hundreds of feet long and nearly 70 feet deep.

“We know how frustrating the closure of Route 136 has been for everyone, especially local residents,” said Don Wichern, MoDOT Northwest District Engineer. “That’s why we have been committed throughout this flooding event to reopen these roads as quickly and safely as possible.”

Leavenworth-based Lexeco was awarded two separate emergency repair contracts for the highway.

The first contract was awarded on September 19th in the amount of $3,293,570.90 for the 1.7- mile section of roadway from Route D to just west of Interstate 29. The first emergency contract filled three of the four gaps in pavement and repaired the shoulders damaged by the flood. Crews hauled rock 24/7 to fill these three gaps in only 13 days.

The second contract for $3,492,032.80 involved filling the largest gap which was 480-foot long and 65-foot deep scour hole, as well as asphalt resurfacing over all the filled gaps. More than 105,000 tons of rock (over 4,900 truck loads) was needed to fill “the Beast,” and more than 200,000 tons was used for both projects. The largest gap was filled in only 10 days.

Even after the road reopened, Lexeco continued to work placing dirt on the slopes and ditches. The road will be narrowed to one lane around the work zone for approximately one month.

The Brownville Bridge will also be reduced to one-lane traffic for possibly the next couple of months while the truss is being painted.