LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Michael Hommrich Jr., who lives off of West Orell Road between Dixie Highway and Lower River Road, said a section of West Orell has been closed for about a month now.
"If they were actively working to fix it, it wouldn't be a problem and we could live with it," Hommrich said. "The main issue is when we called and asked about it, we were told there is no funding and because its unsafe, you can't cross it."
A spokesman from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Works said some of the reinforcing steel support systems in the concrete culvert on West Orell were showing significant corrosion.
That makes it unsafe to drive over.
Hommrich said he called the city to ask how long the closure would last and was told they didn't know because there isn't funding to repair the structure.
"If you're going to investigate problems, you should have funding available to fix whatever you expect to find," Hommrich said.
City officials said the design phase to repair the culvert on West Orell should be complete in June.
They hope to start construction in July, which would put the project in the upcoming fiscal year and would require funding from the new budget.
As with all construction projects, that timeline is subject to change since weather, permitting and other unforeseen problems can cause delays.
Another road in Jefferson County closed in November for the same reason.
The city found a culvert on Blevins Gap Road was also unsafe to drive over.
According to the city, undermining of the foundations and abutments were found when analyzing that culvert.
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