LAURINBURG – Residents in the Woodrun and Lakewood Hills communities may want to map out a new commute for the next few weeks.

The city’s Public Works Department plans to close Woodrun Drive in order to replace a failing culvert where the road crosses Blue Pond in order to keep it from collapsing.

“It’s a four-foot metal culvert that rusted in two, and it would be cheaper to replace it with a plastic drain tile than trying to rehabilitate it,” said Stacey McQuage, public utilities director.

The weakened area is currently being protected with a sheet of steel used as a stopgap until work can begin.

McQuage hopes to have equipment staged and ready to begin work on Monday.

City crews will locate any underground cables, dig up and remove the old culvert, and install the new pipe. They will give the pipe and freshly disturbed soil time to settle before repaving the section of road.

During construction the dead end on Oakcroft Trail will be temporarily opened to Lakewood Drive for through traffic.

“We’ve already opened up Oakcroft Trail to through traffic so people will have time to get used to going through there over the weekend,” McQuage said. “There shouldn’t be any problems getting into and out of the neighborhood, just along Woodrun.”

Road barricades will be reinstalled after the construction is completed.

McQuage does not have an estimate on when the work will be complete, but said it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks with good weather.

Beth Lawrence | Laurinburg Exchange The City Public Works placed a sheet of steel over a compromised culvert where Woodrun Drive crosses a pond and will repair the problem beginning next week.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_coneProcessed.jpgBeth Lawrence | Laurinburg Exchange The City Public Works placed a sheet of steel over a compromised culvert where Woodrun Drive crosses a pond and will repair the problem beginning next week.

By Beth Lawrence

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Reach Beth Lawrence 910-506-3169