Road begins to collapse in Cole Co. due to storms, heavy rain

Cole County is working to get one road back up and running after storms caused it to start collapsing.

A section of Lower Bottom Road in Cole County started sinking down the hill Tuesday.

Cole County Public Works decided to shut down the road down indefinitely. Rather than floods, officials said the damage was most likely caused by storms and heavy rain.

They said that is causing the soil underneath the road to become saturated and sink down the hill. There are big gaping cracks in the pavement due to the road not getting enough support.

This is not something the department has to deal with every year; only during times of heavy rain and moisture.

While it’s only affecting one land right now, both lanes are closed, just in case. The road is sinking very slowly, but even if the hill doesn’t collapse under the weight of a car, it still poses a danger.

“The main thing that we’re concerned about is people coming through there that aren’t familiar with the road. We’ve got considerable displacement of the one lane. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” said Larry Benz with Cole Co. Public Works.

Benz told ABC 17 the department had problems with this section of the road before, but from above the road, not underneath it.

They aren’t sure when they’ll be able to reopen that section of the road.

Public Works reminds drivers to always be on the look out for dangerous conditions, whether it’s damaged roads, fallen signs, or even flooding, and to report them to the department.