Sampson County Isn't Only Place With Washed Out Roads

Just one day after two cars toppled into a hole left by Hurricane Fran on a washed-out roadway in Sampson County, another wash-out has some Franklin County residents worried.

Residents say three cars have fallen into this hole so far. No one has been hurt, as two women were in Sampson County, but many are afraid they've just been lucky. They say the only preparation drivers have for the looming crevass are a couple of small signs, and they say that's not enough.

Relena Nelson, lives in the area of the Franklinton wash-out, on State Road 1127. She says it appears to be a real danger.

With two washed-out roads found in as many days, some worry that there are probably more dangerous Fran-related road hazards that no one knows about yet.

The Department of Transportation says there probably are more, and that is a problem.

DOT spokesman Bill Jones told WRAL TV5's Bret Baier that some of these problem areas have not been properly marked yet because, since Fran, there has been a shortage of equipment statewide.

As WRAL TV5's Sky 5 helicopter flew over the Franklin County site, DOT workers were out placing barricades up on either side of the hole. One inspector said they didn't know about the road problems until they saw Baier's Monday night report.