St. George » Five years after a devastating southern Utah flood, a construction team is finally replacing a bridge washed away by the Santa Clara River.

In January 2005, the Valley View Drive bridge was one of five structures pushed off its footings by flooding on both the Virgin and Santa Clara rivers. All five were closed.

The floods also destroyed at least 15 homes on the Santa Clara and left about 25 others condemned.

Local communities received about $65 million in federal funds to help recovery efforts. The money was used to clear water channels, line sections of the river with rock, rework flood strategies and plant riverbank vegetation.

Experts say that given the right conditions, a flood of similar or larger proportions could again occur.