Months after the historic March Floods that swept through Nebraska, ranchers Kent and Mary Snowdon are still putting in hours -- not minutes -- behind the wheel. The long drives are part of their job. They have to check on their cattle every day."It was 63 miles when I first started (this year). Now, 144 miles 'cause Highway 12 was out," Kent Snowdon said. Normally, the pair would take Highway 12 to get their work done. But, without the connecting bridge, they remain isolated and left with no choice but to take the long way."Our highway's pretty quiet now, which is nice, but not nice for us, that we can't get into town," Mary Snowdon said. The Snowdons aren't the only ones who said they feel stranded.Esther Nielsen, a retired nurse and the village's clerk, said many locals have had to take back roads just to make it work or back home."There was a time that we did not have any way into town except through the country, south of town here. That road was highly used and it was almost impassable if you didn't have four-wheel drive," Nielsen said.Nielsen said she vividly remembers the moments the rapids roared past Niobrara."Great, big chunks of ice, as big as cars. Some, just huge, and big machinery had to be used to get it off. It was horrid. (Village board member Jody Stark) described it as, 'Looked like the end of the world was coming,'" Nielsen said.The disaster destroyed businesses like the Country Café and the Trading Post. Nielsen said they're back open, but without Highway 12, that doesn't help much. "Our business owners are facing economic challenges - severe economic challenges at this point," Nielsen said.Nielsen said at the same time, thousands of families would normally visit the Niobrara State Park or Lazy River Acres, but most won't come this summers because the bridge is still not finished."Some (families) live there full time, but most of them come weekends or holidays, so they also spend a significant amount of money in this town," Nielsen said.She and the Snowdons hope they will be able to cross the river soon, thanks to crews working hard to reconnect the community. "It's been a long haul, but there's progress and this crew is amazing. What they've done since June 6, they came in. Just, progressive bunch," Mary Snowdon said."We'll be very glad when that bridge gets in, because hopefully, the traffic will start again towards those two places and people out west will be able to get here," Nielsen said.