Columbia road closes due to failed culvert

Columbia public work crews are working to repair a potentially serious problem. A failing storm water culvert was not sized properly causing the road to crack. Public works says that Sinclair road between Nifong Blvd and Southampton Drive is in danger of immediately collapsing. The road could take seven to ten days until it reopens, and that is pending due to weather conditions.

The culvert will be fixed permanently in the fall. Temporarily the ground is being filled with grout until it can get permanently filled.

Columbia isn’t a stranger to sinkholes popping up within the city. Within the last year, several sinkholes and large cavities have popped up due to storm drain erosion’s and aging infrastructure.

According to a map from the United States Geological Survey, Missouri is more than two – thirds full of evaporite. Which means Missouri is at a much higher risk for sinkholes than other states.

According to Chris Kelly, with the Infrastructure Task Force in Columbia, “we have not done a good job at keeping up. The scariest part is that Columbia is in better shape than any other city, and we still have a lot of work to do.”

Sinclair road between Nifong and Southampton was closed due to a large cavity that was create by a failed stormwater culvert. This is a problem that they city has been tackling for years. “Even with the issue that the citizens approved in April, we are still falling behind financially,” Kelly said.

With spring and summer just around the corner, the heavy rain will likely continue to cause issues. “Concentrated water into larger flow in a large period of time… and that heavier flow tends to produce more erosion too.”

The task force also told ABC 17 that it takes years to improve the pipes and infrastructure that the city currently has, and that there really isn’t anything further they can do to better prepare for the upcoming rainy season.

For a detailed map of detours, click here.