Flooding takes out Dublin Gulch Road
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CHARLO – Rising waters brought on by rain took out a chunk of Dublin Gulch Road on Wedensday, April 10.
Lake County Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Clary said the road would likely be closed for a “couple months” before it is repaired. Travelers often use the paved road to move between U.S. Highway 93 and Highway 212. Drivers will have to use alternate routes to bypass the closure.
Clary said a combination of rain and wet snow fell on the area. This caused water levels in the gulley passing under Dublin Gulch to rise. Clary said the culvert likely was blocked by debris. Lake County Commissioner Dave Stipe said wildlife dams might have played a factor in the destruction as well.
By Wednesday morning, the road was beginning to wash out. Later that day, a section of the road 150-feet long and 30-feet deep had been destroyed.
Stipe said the road will be fixed but not for a while. “It won’t happen in a week or anything,” he said. Commissioners are considering methods for fixing the area. According to Stipe, one consideration for repair is to build a bridge over the gulley where the road washed out.
Clary said the Lake County Commissioners met several weeks ago to make an emergency declaration regarding flooding. The declaration will make it easier to access funding to repair the road.
Aside from washing out fences in adjacent farm fields, the event did not damage any property.
Stipe said the water that caused the flooding was only from the rain, not runoff from the mountains. As snow at higher elevations melts, the valley could see rising water levels. Clary advised drivers not to drive on roads covered in water.
Tuesday’s storm also caused damage that led to the closure of Howlett Road where it crosses Crow Creek near Ronan.
