Culvert failure on Dufort Road

A culvert located at the 5700 block of Dufort Road, near Lakeshore Drive, failed on June 4, necessitating major road work in the area for an indeterminate amount of time.

According to Bonner County Road and Bridge Operations Coordinator Autumn Inman, “there was no warning for this failure and we have reports of residents in the area as late as Saturday evening that say everything looked fine.”

As of June 6, an opening in the road had to be excavated to mitigate flooding. The county is currently weighing its options for repair, including a possible replacement culvert or a bridge. Traffic is being rerouted entirely during the closure, seeing as there is no way around the damaged portion of Dufort.

“We are meeting with all resources available to formulate a plan for the repairs,” Inman told the Reader

“The rising lake is complicating this plan immensely. As soon as we have figured out the best way to proceed we will post an update with a better timeline for the road to reopen.”

Updates are being posted to the “Bonner County Road & Bridge” Facebook page.

— Words by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

— Photos courtesy Bonner County Road & Bridge Facebook.