Flooding closes parts of busy highway in Madison County

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Drivers can now pass over portions of Highway 18 near Medon. However, that wasn’t the case earlier Monday.

Heavy rains from early Monday morning caused flash flooding in southern Madison and northern Hardeman counties, forcing drivers to take alternate routes.

“It’s good that the state allows people to help us now because if they wouldn’t, I would have just driving right on,” said Selmer resident Carol Corr, who was driving to Bolivar to visit a family member.

Corr along with other commuters had to turn around since the highway was blocked.

Medon resident Amanda Tillmon said her normal 20-minute commute to Bolivar would have easily been four times as long because of the detours.

“I couldn’t take my son to Bolivar. The backroads were all shut down around here, too,” Tillmon said. “You have to go all the way to Jackson to Henderson to 45 and all the way back around. It would take me like an hour and a half to get 20 minutes up the road.”

Fortunately, the section of the highway is finally safe to drive through in both directions. TDOT workers at the scene said they had been there since 7 a.m.

As the waters continue to recede, some rivers and streams will still see minor flooding, with the Forked Deer River still under a flood warning until Tuesday evening.