It only took three inches of rain in about an hour’s time on July 5 to wash out a portion of Lincklaen Road and give the Town of Cazenovia highway department a major headache.
After heavy rain washed out the slope, town workers erected road cones, barricades and temporary traffic lights, reducing a portion of Lincklaen Road to one lane.
“We want to make sure we look out for the public safety,” Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt said. “We didn’t want anyone to get too close to the slope.”
The town is exploring options to restore the road, but it could be an expensive fix, Hunt said.
“It’s about 140 feet of elevation change,” Hunt said. “It’s almost a 45 degree angle down there.”
That steep slope makes it difficult to install materials safely and permanently to restore the road. Some options, such as closing or redirecting the road, are recommended, but Hunt said these methods would not be preferred.
“The cheapest thing would be to close the road, but is that what we want to do?” he asked. Hunt said the town wants to look into other options first.
Several different companies, along with NYS Dept. of Transportation engineers specializing in slopes, have looked at the site.
“We’re just trying to figure out what are options are at this point,” Hunt said.
But for now, Cazenovia residents should get used to delays on Lincklaen, or look for alternate routes.
