Between high lake levels and strong storms, some Mackinac Island roads have taken a beating. Crews are out this week repairing a state highway on the island. And officials say they expect to see more damage in the future.
Officials said high water levels and heavy waves caused a portion of state highway 185 on Mackinac Island (on the north side of the island)to collapse over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The washout took out more than half of the road in some areas, making it impassable and totaling up a repair cost of $369,000.
Mackinac Island State Park Manager, Myron Johnson, said erosion problems won’t be going away anytime soon.
“This is going to be an ongoing issue for a long time. We have no thought that this is a one time fix or anything. As long as the water stays at this level, we are going to be continuing to fight the battle.”
Johnson said the collapsed road will be repaired within a week. He said they are playing catch up to complete repairs to get through the winter and expect to do more work in the spring.