LUCERNE >> After the recent storm took out a swath of Bartlett Springs Road, the Public Works Department has notified the public the road will be closed for nearly a month Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to perform emergency storm damage repairs.
Beginning Jan. 5, the road will be closed during the day and the department expects the work to be completed by Jan. 31.
Approximately 6 feet of the road”s width along 60 feet of its length was taken out in a slide during the intense rains of mid-December, according to Assistant Public Works Director Lars Ewing.
Under the road runs an AT&T fiber-optic cable that provides critical communications from counties south of Lake to northern counties. Although the cable isn”t currently exposed, Public Works will be working closely with AT&T to ensure the repairs do not impact it.
With a soil nail wall and a slope stabilization repair needed, the mending of the road is expected to cost the county about $130,000 and will be taken from the county”s road fund, Ewing said. The county is also in discussions with AT&T to see if any opportunity for cost sharing is available.
The slide couldn”t have been prevented, Ewing said.
“With the amount of rain we had, it was simply overwhelmed,” he explained.
During the time the road is open, single-lane traffic will be permitted and access to the area will otherwise be provided through High Valley Road.
