Heavy storms have caused significant damage to a piece of infrastructure in Berrien County.
A culvert underneath Point O’ Woods Drive in Benton Township has completely failed, washing a large section of road and sand into The failure happened at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after more than five inches of rain fell in less than an hour, according to Road Department managing director Mark Heyliger.
The culvert failure resulted in a 18 to 25 foot gap in the road, making it impassible for vehicles and pedestrians.
“The guardrail is the only thing standing on either side of the road,” said Heyliger, at the Berrien County Committee of the Whole Meeting Thursday morning. “This affects about 15 houses on the west side of Point O’ Woods Drive, and we have worked with [Point O’ Woods] golf course to create a temporary route of passage for those residents to be able to move through the easement.”
Road Department Project Engineer Kevin Stack said they have seen more rain in the past, but the problem was created by how much rain fell in a short period of time.
“It maxed everything out,” said Stack, to commissioners. “What happened is there was a small crack along the edge of the curb up top and the asphalt – probably about an inch wide crack that allowed water through got water came rushing down that hill. It went down that crack and liquified the sand underneath it, and the water pressure around the culvert liquified the sand around the culvert to the point where it Just became like beach sand – down the stream it went.”
Heyliger said the gas company has already been at the site to deal with an exposed gas line caused by the failure, and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will be on-site Friday to assess the situation and advise the county on the removal of debris and replacement of the culvert.
Affected residents have been notified of the alternate route they must take, and temporary garbage dumpsters and mailboxes will also be available to affected residents, as will temporary mailboxes, Heyliger said.
“The biggest problem right now is emergency services,” Stack said. “We’re meeting with Benton Township Fire again out there today to pre-plan how are we going to get services back there, because a firetruck will not fit.”
The Road Department expects the cost of a replacement culvert to be about $300,000. The time it takes to replace the culvert will range from about a month to three months, depending on if they are able to purchase a culvert that is already constructed.
