COLUMBUS – Bartholomew County has suspended its chip and seal road maintenance program for the remainder of the summer to redirect resources toward an urgent repair project on Whitehorse Road. A significant landslide has compromised a section of the road, necessitating immediate and extensive stabilization work.
County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander informed the County Commissioners this week that a large slide has caused approximately 100 feet of Whitehorse Road in the 3400 block to drop by about 18 inches. The affected area is situated roughly half a mile from the Brown County line on the western edge of the county.
Hollander explained that the problem first appeared about two years ago as a small 4-foot by 4-foot dip. Although it was initially filled with asphalt and the county attempted to shift the road away from the sliding hillside, heavy rains this spring exacerbated the issue. The slide eventually widened to about 8 feet over 150 feet, consuming the shoulder and roughly half of the southbound lane.
After consulting with INDOT, Hollander identified two specialized companies capable of performing the complex repair. The proposed solution involves driving 30-foot-long steel “nails” sideways through the slide area to anchor the roadway to solid ground, followed by the construction of a concrete retaining wall along the bank. Hollander noted that the county has never undertaken work of this magnitude before. Whitehorse Road has been reduced to a single lane until repairs are completed.
The Commissioners approved an emergency slope stabilization project contract of just under $300,000 with GeoSpecialties, a company based in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The work is expected to take at least six weeks.
Following the stabilization, the county will need to rebuild the road base. Hollander confirmed that a contract is already in place with Milestone to complete this road reconstruction this year.
However, the unexpected expense of this emergency repair means that Bartholomew County will have to suspend its chip and seal program for the rest of the summer. Chip and seal operations typically involve applying an asphalt and gravel mix to roads to repair minor cracks and extend their lifespan by up to 10 years.
