A portion of Windy Hollow Road on the southwest side of Owensboro has been closed after heavy rainfall caused erosion around a culvert beneath the roadway, prompting officials to shut down the road before a washout could occur.
The affected area is just off Old Highway 81 Road. The roadway itself had not washed out as of approximately 3 p.m. Sunday, but Daviess County Public Safety Director Jeremy Smith said that water flowing around the culvert has caused enough deterioration that county officials determined it was unsafe to keep the road open.
Once water levels recede, the Daviess County Road Department plans to excavate the damaged section of roadway and repair the culvert. Smith said the repair will include placing concrete around the culvert to better protect it from future erosion.
“They’ll literally be digging the roadway up when the water subsides, and they’ll put concrete around it this time to keep this from happening again,” Smith said.
The closure is expected to last at least several days, as crews must wait for floodwaters to recede before repairs can begin.
“The water will have to go down, and then they’ll have to get in there with pipes and everything they need,” Smith said.
Smith said the Daviess County Road Department is continuing to monitor road conditions across the county and is updating its road closure list throughout the day as conditions change. (See here for the latest list.)
