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David Nicholas: All eyes remain on the Cheboygan Dam as rainfall and melting snow continue to raise water levels there. But officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation say the same weather conditions have wreaked havoc across many Northwest Michigan roadways.
This has caused erosion issues and led to some roads collapsing, including a stretch of M-119 in Emmet County. WCMU's Tina Sawyer spoke with MDOT's James Lake to learn more about the roadway.
James Lake: We've had a couple of erosion issues on M-119 up in Emmet County. One that cropped up last week, we have the roadside that was sloughing away, eroding because of the heavy rains and melting snow.
And so even though the roadway was not damaged, we've closed it because that erosion is right next to the side of the road. So for safety, we've closed that section, rerouted traffic.
Then overnight, last night, further north between Good Heart and Cross Village, we had a culvert fail just south of Division Road, and that unfortunately resulted in losing the entire roadway. It's washed away for probably, you know, between 50 and 100 foot section is now gone.
Tina Sawyer: What can people expect as far as taking a different route, or is there a different route around that area?
JL: Yep, we worked with the Emmett County Road Commission to identify a couple of detours on local roads. They're not very lengthy, but they are certainly less convenient if you're usually just using M-119.
So those detour routes will be in place until we're able to evaluate, come up with a repair plan, and make those repairs.
TS: When will those repairs take place?
JL: We're not sure yet. We're still in that evaluation phase where we're wrapping our heads around the exact problem and the best way to fix it. So we don't have an estimate yet on when the repairs could take place or when we could reopen the road.
TS: Has anything been assessed as far as cost, as to how much that'll cost to repair?
JL: Nope, that'll be part of that repair design and assessment. Once we've got a repair, designed, then we'll be able to better determine what the cost will be.
TS: Are there any other areas that are showing some signs of erosion that you're kind of looking at right now?
JL: Yes, we've got one lane close of M-37 southbound in Grand Traverse County. That's just south of Chum's Corner. We've got eroding shoulder of the roadway, so we've closed that outside lane just for safety.
And then over on M-65 in Iosco County, just north of Hale, we have a low spot in the roadway and now we've got water over top of it, so we've closed that section of road until those waters subside.
But we're kind of watching the rest of our system right now to see if there's any other erosion that takes place or whether we need to make any more closures.
TS: Yeah, but with the rain coming this week, it's a close eye on everything right now.
JL: Absolutely. And it's not just the rain. It's that we had so much snowpack that is now melting and contributing to that water. So we've got high water, lots of water flowing through culverts everywhere across northern lower Michigan.
TS: And James, Is there anything that you would like to add that I haven't asked a question about?
JL: Well, we would just ask for everyone's patience. We know that it's frustrating anytime a roadway is closed. There's a lot of roadways our partners with the local road commissions are putting in place as well.
But we're doing our best to protect the roadways, keep them open long-term, but closing them when it's absolutely necessary for safety.
TS: Thank you, James. I appreciate your time.
JL: Yeah, sure thing.
DN: That was MDOT Communications Director James Lake. He spoke with WCMU's Tina Sawyer earlier today.
