LAKE ASBURY – A stretch of Henley Road near the Black Creek bridge has been closed to southbound traffic since early April. The road sees a lot of traffic, which led to a widening project about five years ago. Once the project was completed and some time passed, county officials started noticing a problem.

“We’ve been monitoring the road for a little over a year,” said Dale Smith, the county’s public works director. “There have been some issues.”

The issues Smith mentions are things that caused immediate road closure until further notice, forcing all traffic onto the northbound side of the road, and creating an obstacle course of barricades and cones that redirect motorists to the detour.

Even during low traffic hours, the detour has created problems for those living on the streets perpendicular to the lane closure. The temporary blockades make turning onto the road a chore, especially near the bottom of the hill south of the Black Creek bridge. One resident who was waiting to turn left mid-morning onto northbound Henley Road said it’s nearly impossible to get across the detour and onto the highway during rush hour when traffic is backed up.

However, the delays might be necessary in the interest of safety. The road’s surface near a retaining wall has started shifting, and due to the high amount of traffic traveling through each day, that shifting could become worse if left alone.

“The problem we’re having with the road is lateral movement,” said County Attorney Courtney Grimm about the problem area between RideOut Lane and Asbury Terrace. This means that the wall stabilizing the road has begun to move from side-to-side, something that could be a serious problem for the relatively new section of blacktop.

According to the county’s website, the county is working with the engineer of record, RS&H, and the roadbuilding contractor, Haskell, on a possible solution to the problem. County documents show the road project cost $14.8 million.

The closure notice states specifically that, “A design is being finalized for the repair,” but that design may be on hold for the time being.

“There are pilings with a platform on top,” said County Manager Stephanie Kopelousos. “We’re deciding whether to fix the platform, the pilings, or both.”

According to Kopelousos, there has been some disagreement between the contractor and engineer as to what may be the correct solution to the problem. Until all those involved can come to a unified decision as to how they should move forward, the road will remain partially closed.

“In any situation like this, safety of the public is a concern first and foremost,” said Dave Balz, a Haskell spokesman.

Balz went to say that their company would try to find the best possible solution alongside RS&H and the county. He did not speculate that there would be any litigation brought up against any parties involved.

Clay County Commissioner Gayward Hendry’s district covers the imperiled roadway where the detour has been enforced. Hendry, notoriously critical of government red tape and foot-dragging, wants to see a solution for this problem soon.

“The problem is faulty construction,” Hendry said. “We’re trying to determine who’s responsible.”

There has not yet been litigation filed by the county, but officials seem to believe that either the engineer or contractor will be responsible for the repairs to the road. There is currently no end in sight as talks of lawsuits continue, but for now the road will remain closed in the interests of the safety of citizens traveling along the faulty section of Henley between county roads 218 and 220.

“We closed the road to prevent a potentially catastrophic road failure,” Hendry said. “I don’t care who fixes it as long as it isn’t [paid for by] Clay County taxpayers.”

For now, the project is at a standstill. No one can provide any information, or even speculation, on when the road will be fully operational again. What is being billed as a temporary fix may be temporary for a while as the county, engineer, and contractor determine what needs to be done to ensure the road doesn’t continue to deteriorate.