Culvert problem on Ferry Street forces detour in Douglas

DOUGLAS, Mich. (WOOD) — A compromised culvert has forced the closure of a stretch of road in Douglas, detouring traffic in the popular beach town.

City Manager Lisa Nocerini said a Douglas Department of Public Works worker came upon a sinkhole on Ferry Street south of Campbell Road on July 24. Crews were out the next day to investigate, but couldn’t immediately determine whether the culvert under the road was intact because it was “under a bunch of muck.”

They ultimately shut down Ferry Street over the culvert on Aug. 5. When crews started digging, they found the culvert “in severe condition,” the city manager told News 8 in a Friday email.

“The DPW Director easily removed, by hand, a large piece of the culvert,” Nocerini wrote.

Crews have shored up the embankment to support the road over the culvert, which connects a small creek and Kalamazoo Lake.

They will now have to figure out what a fix will require and how long it will take. The work will be complicated by water and sewer mains next to the culvert and a gas line above it.

“It’s going to take quite a while to pull permits that are necessary. There’s quite a bit of infrastructure in that area, so if that culvert fails, that would be a huge problem,” Douglas Mayor Cathy North said.

She said repairs are expected to cost at least $750,000.

“I know that our engineers are doing everything possible to move this along as quickly as possible,” North said.

While the Ferry Street closure remains in place, traffic is being detoured along Lakeshore Drive via Center Street to the south and Campbell Road to the north.

“(The closure) impacts everybody that lives and visits on the west side of the river. Unfortunately, Lakeshore Drive is the only alternative to Ferry Street,” North said. “(Lakeshore Drive is) not too bad during the week, but during the weekend, it’s got a lot of traffic.”

Crews also put two steel plates over the sinkhole so that emergency vehicles can get through, though the road is not open to the public.

Pedestrians and bicycles can still use Ferry Street using the designated lane.

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