Monday morning found recent work undone along new sections of the Roanoke River Greenway near East Riverside and Apperson drives in Salem.

Dubbed "phase II A" by the city, the $470,000 project sustained setbacks during Thursday's flooding.

Slabs of fresh asphalt, some of them put down just a week ago, appeared to have been broken off as cleanly as brownies cut from a pan.

Part of the tar-and-gravel trail had ruffled like a hallway rug, shoulders were washed away, clusters of branches clung to trees and raging floodwaters had shoved a branch far under the asphalt, leaving a raised scar 5 feet across the surface.

Even so, Will Simpson, a Salem city engineer, said the stretch of greenway, which has been under construction since Aug. 10, held up well.

"Water was probably 4 feet over the trail," Simpson said. "Initially I had it in my head that the whole trail was gone, that we'd have to start over."

As it is, he estimates about 250 to 300 feet of the new trail was affected by the storms but said a damage estimate wouldn't be available until later in the week.

"We were actually a little bit ahead of schedule," he said. "Had this not happened, they probably would've been putting the finishing touches on it by the first of December.

"We have until February to finish it. I don't anticipate us running over time."

Simpson said he hopes to use the setback to the greenway's advantage.

"We can learn from this where our weak points are, so when the next flood comes it doesn't happen again," he said.

The riverside greenways in Roanoke fared somewhat better, and city Parks Superintendent Gary Hegner said damage was limited to trees and excess debris, which was cleared by crews Friday and Monday.

"Overall it was pretty minimal, considering the height and swiftness of some of the water," Hegner said.