By Jimmy Espy
Correspondent
Soggy weather is keeping Georgia Department of Transportation employees from finishing work on State Route 337 between Menlo and LaFayette.
The road was damaged in mid-January when heavy rains contributed to the collapse of a large water drainage pipe underneath.
“The pipes were badly rusted and they actually burst,” said GDOT spokesman Mohamed Arafa. “That led to the dirt caving in and the road sinking.”
GDOT workers, not private contractors, are handling the repairs but efforts to wrap up the project in three weeks have been plagued by rainy weather, Dr. Arafa said.
“We need a week of good weather to finish that work, but unfortunately Mother Nature is not cooperating,” he said.
State workers were at the site Monday. The road has been dug out and the new pipe brought in, but the renewed rainfall on Tuesday cut work short. More snow fell Friday.
Mr. Arafa said “five or six dry days” are still needed to complete the work.
Local traffic can still use the road up to the work site. Northbound traffic is being diverted to State Route 1/U.S. 27, right on State Route 48 and back on to SR 337.
Southbound traffic is being redirected onto SR 48, left onto U.S. 27 and then back to SR 337.