LIVINGSTON-Sumter County was one of the hardest hit areas in Alabama by Hurricane Katrina, but that didn’t stop county crews from opening up roads within hours of their blockage.

At Monday’s Sumter County Commission meeting County Engineer Anthony Creer gave a full report of their progress on cleanups and other projects. Creer said one project in particular, had been completed before Katrina could impact their progress.

“We have completed the repairs to County road 20,” Creer said. “We had a slight delay because of Hurricane Dennis, but we completed the repairs and we opened the road to traffic last weekend.”

Creer said the roads were clear, but littered with debris. He said county workers had done an outstanding job of getting the roads cleared and their next step would be to clear the right of ways.

“We have a lot of debris on the ground as a result of Hurricane Katrina,” Creer said. “I am happy to report that during the week of Katrina, with the exception of a power line here and there, we cleared the roads that same week.”

Clearing the roads took a widespread effort. Creer said several different groups had chipped in to allow citizen’s to travel freely. He also said they employed some different tactics from past storms which proved to be beneficial.

“The volunteer fire departments and a lot of other individuals helped out as well,” Creer said. “We did some things differently this time than we did during Dennis and Ivan, but I am happy to report that we got the roads clear.”

Unfortunately, Creer said it could take a while to get the roadsides cleared.

“The bad news is that we still have some debris on the roads,” Creer said. “We will be working to get that up as well.”

Commission Chairman Isaac Bonner said he and the commission appreciated all the hard work county workers had put forth.

“We thank the crews for what they did during the hurricane,” Bonner said. “I think they did a great job and we are very thankful for everything they have done.”