A section of State Route 9 outside of Paw Paw that was damaged in the June 3 flood and remains closed to traffic will be repaired with a larger box culvert, state road officials said.
The eastbound lane of the roadway, which has been blocked by concrete barriers for four months, collapsed when flood waters undercut a box culvert, said Lee Thorne, district five highway engineer.
A culvert collapse from June 3 remains in need of repair on Route 9 near Paw Paw.
Thorne said a larger culvert – 10’ by 10’ – has been ordered by the Division of Highways and is expected to be available in 30 days. The culvert will be installed at a different angle to prevent further washouts, he said.
The highway department has secured environmental permits to replace the culvert and gotten permission to upgrade it from the original size. Thorne said the repair won’t be covered by the state’s FEMA declaration.
Highway crews will replace the side without a culvert first, then move traffic over to replace the culvert under the westbound side.
Thorne confirmed that state road crews hope to get the work down before winter.
“It’s taken us longer than any of us wanted,” he said.
