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ODOT cleans storm drains on stretch of I-90

Posted at 4:16 PM, May 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-03 17:30:29-04

New dash cam video from Lakewood Police showed cars causing a splash driving through high water on Interstate 90 in Lakewood on Monday after a rain storm.

Tuesday, ODOT crews cleared clogged catch basins on I-90 near the McKinley Avenue exit.

Each truck can vacuum up and carry 1,500 gallons of water, muddy sludge, and litter. It's all taken to a dumping site, then the trucks come back and repeat the process in the storm drains.

ODOT continued to blame repeat flooding on clogged storm drains, and said there's no engineering flaw along a stretch of I-90 between Rocky River and Lakewood which has been prone to flooding over the years.

“At this time we do not have any engineers going out and looking at it. We just think once we clear these catch basins here at McKinley the problem will be solved," officials said.

Monday morning Lakewood police dash cam captured dramatic video of a driver losing control in high water, sliding across the road and slamming into a police SUV.

No one was seriously injured.

Time and the next big rain storm will tell if cleaning out the storm drains prevents flooding on that stretch of highway.