NATCHEZ &045;&045; Robin’s Lake Road has been temporarily fixed.

More than four inches of rain caused the lake to flood and wash over the dam and into the road Thursday morning, but it was open for traffic by Friday morning.

The county road management department has reduced the road to one lane and asked 18-wheelers and other large trucks to steer clear until further work can be done to stabilize the backside of the dam, Road Manager Bobby Powell said.

The county will soon bring in a load of gravel and dirt to fill in the area that washed away. It will be several months before more permanent work is done, Powell said.

Because four inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours the Robin’s Lake area does qualify for assistance from the Emergency Watershed Protection agency. Powell said the EWP could come in and restore the concrete spillway but it would probably be a two to three month wait.

County supervisor for the area Sammy Cauthen said he was not sure how the repairs would be funded. &uot;I don’t know the extent of the damage right now, and I don’t know if we’ll use county funds or get extra money,&uot; he said.

Powell said Robin’s Lake was on private property and only the road was maintained by the county.

&uot;We do what we can for the safety of the public,&uot; Powell said. &uot;There were four houses within the flood plain that could have been taken. We notified those residents and gave them the choice of leaving or not.&uot;

Powell said the lake has flooded and the dam washed away two other times in the last 20 years.