PENTWATER, Mich. — Water from Pentwater Lake has covered a section of Longbridge Road since May 1. This week the heavy machinery needed to raise the road more than two-feet arrived on site.
"It's been very difficult," said Amy Fleming. "It's almost gotten kind of depressing in a way."
Fleming believes nearly every day since the road closed she's put an extra 50-miles on her vehicle getting to and from town.
The Oceana County Road Commission has state permission to begin lifting this road, and work started Tuesday.
For residents who live on the south side of the road closure the long winding detour to Pentwater is nearing an end. With the road construction season nearing an end Fleming hopes the work will be quick.
"I'm hoping two weeks. Trying to stay positive about it," she said.
Mark Timmer, Managing Director of the Oceana County Road Commission believes the project will take contractors between two and three weeks.
To raise the road workers will install a geo tech material, fill it with limestone, and wrap the road with the material like a burrito. A new asphalt road surface will go on top of the geo tech wrap.
"We had maybe six to eight inches of water on the center line of the road this summer," Timmer said. "In the low spot the new centerline will be about 2.4 feet higher."
According to Timmer the new road surface will be about one foot above the all time high water mark for this site.
The sides of the new road will have added protection from waves on Pentwater Lake which may be even higher next summer.
Heavy rip rap will be barged to the site and placed on both sides of the road.
"What you might see on piers and channels," Timmer said.
Workers need to have the surface ready to be capped off with asphalt before Nov. 27th the day the plant that provides the material to road projects in West Michigan shuts down for the season.
Timmer hopes the road reopens to traffic in late November and never floods again.
MORE FROM THE LAKESHORE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.