Repairs continue as new culvert is placed on Dufort Road

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

Bonner County Road and Bridge crews took a major step in repairing Dufort Road this week when they installed a new culvert to replace the one that failed in early June, disrupting one of the county’s most-trafficked roads.

The culvert — which is 12 feet in diameter and arrived from Topeka, Kans. in two 50-foot pieces — is meant to connect Morton Slough to the Pend Oreille River. The catastrophic collapse occurred June 4, creating a flood risk that required total excavation of the site and rendering Dufort unpassable. 

Bonner County Road and Bridge crews work July 11 to place a new culvert on Dufort Road, where the previous culvert failed in early June. Courtesy photo.

According to Road and Bridge officials, repairs are scheduled to be completed by the end of July.

Road and Bridge Director Jason Topp gained unanimous approval from Bonner County commissioners July 11 to allocate nearly $300,000 in funding toward the Dufort Road repair efforts. The sum includes nearly $100,000 in unanticipated revenue from the state, a $100,000 emergency grant from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council’s Local Rural Highway Improvement Program and about $80,000 in forest apportionment funds. 

The total cost of the road’s repair is estimated at $800,000, half of which was required to pay for a sheet-pile dam to dewater the area for construction.

See occasional project updates on the “Bonner County Road & Bridge” Facebook page.