Published: August 18, 2008 11:40 pm         

Vigo roads on the mend, but plenty of work to be done

TERRE HAUTE — A majority of county roads and bridges damaged in June floods have been repaired or made accessible, but much work remains, said Gerald Lindsay, superintendent of the Vigo County Highway Department.

“At one time, there were [parts of] 43 county roads closed,” Lindsay said.

That includes 22 bridges and at least 14 large culvert pipes that had been washed out.

Five bridges will remain closed through the winter, Lindsay said. Also, 11 roads still need major repairs and two large culvert pipes about 60 feet long and 5 feet in diameter must be replaced. Those pipes are on Bono Road, between Harlan and Dallas Drives in Honey Creek Township.

Bridges that will remain closed through the winter include a bridge over Thralls Avenue, between Arms Place and Reagan Place on the border of Fayette Township; Hollingsworth Place, between Jones Avenue and Brandy Place in Fayette Township; Crews Place, between Sarah Myers Drive and Illiana Drive in Sugar Creek Township; Pottsville Road between Pennington Road and Sandford Avenue in Fayette Township; and Baldwin Road, between Rio Grande Avenue and Buick Avenue in Nevins Township.

The Highway Department has two additional bridges it plans to repair as soon as possible, Lindsay said. The department is waiting for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair a bridge on New Goshen Avenue, between Edington Place and Libertyville Place in Fayette Township and a bridge on Devonald Avenue between Erickson Street and Rosedale Road in Otter Creek Township.

“Hopefully we will get these up as quickly as possible once we get a yes or no on funding from FEMA,” Lindsay said.

“We also have some roads that had a major washout, such as Robertson Road,” west of Cantrell Drive in Prairie Creek Township “and Myles Place, in Prairieton Township,” Lindsay said.

“By a major washout, I am talking about a hole in the road the size of this building,” he said, referring to the Highway Department’s building on Hawthorne Avenue. “Myles and Robertson roads are probably $200,000 to $300,000 to repair,” Lindsay said.

“We have a lot of roads that are open, such as Creal Road in Nevins Township and Battlerow and many others. Harlan Road in Honey Creek Township is open, but not complete as we have to go back and put a hard surface on it,” Lindsay said.

“Curry Drive is open, but it also needs a hard surface put on it,” he said. “We will still be a while making permanent repairs on these roads.”

The Highway Department’s building had about $150,000 in water damage, requiring carpet to be removed and drywall cut to about 4 feet tall to prevent mold.

One unexpected expense for the county Highway Department from the flood is a $269,000 cost to pick up debris from the road. That had been calculated at 580 cubic yards or 58 truck tandem loads, Lindsay said. Also in need of replacement are more than $2,700 in stolen or lost signage, such as “road closed ahead” or “high water” signs, along with barricades and bright orange traffic cones, Lindsay said.

Damage to roads and bridges has been estimated at $8 million, of which $4.4 million is in bridge damage, said County Engineer Jerry Netherlain.

The Highway Department maintains a list of closed roads at its Web site at www.vigocounty.org and click on “county highway department.”

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.