3 Still Missing in Travis County After Flooding, Abbott Says

More than 100 people remain missing from this month’s deadly floods, including in Central Texas, where crews rescued dozens from rushing waters over the last 24 hours, state officials said Monday.

Gov. Greg Abbott said first responders are bracing for another round of flooding, as well, as many across the state shift to recovery efforts from the storms that have claimed 131 lives.

"This has been an extraordinarily challenging time, if not the most extraordinarily challenging time that Texas has faced," Abbott said at a press conference in Leander. "If you saw the rushing waters over the past 24 hours, you know that there were an extraordinary number of people who had to be rescued."

READ MORE: Malaya Hammond, 17, of Marble Falls died saving family from flooded car

The governor said that in Travis County, nine people have died and three remain missing. Three people died in Williamson County and five died in Burnet County, Abbott said. No one is missing in either county, he said.

Abbott toured the Sandy Creek area near Leander, where some residents had been stranded since flood waters heavily damaged a bridge there on July 5.

The governor said he was "astonished" at what he saw, describing the old two-lane bridge that had been moved about six inches by the flood waters. Because of the bridge damage, he said, the neighborhood had been "literally an island for several days."

Travis County officials on Monday opened a temporary bridge allowing wider access for the first time.

Abbott said the Texas Department of Transportation is moving "at lightning speed" to repair RM 1431 near Lago Vista, where a bridge over Cow Creek sustained heavy damage. The busy crossing has been unpassable for days.

The agency’s executive director, Marc Williams, said it plans to award bids to build the new bridge this week and is targeting a 60-day construction period "with significant incentives" to try and reduce that time by "at least 20 days."

"We know that's a very significantly important bridge. It’s an important travel corridor between Marble Falls, Lago Vista, Cedar Park, a lot of people commute back and forth," Williams said.

Ahead of the upcoming school year, he said the department is working to accommodate some students in the Marble Falls school district who live on the other side of the bridge.

Williams said the agency had 49 roads that were affected by storms over the last 24 hours alone, some of which were damaged.

"We're going to be able to get those turned around and replaced and repaired relatively quickly — and hopefully the water will go down and we’ll get a break from the rain," he said.