Traffic on Hwy.63 South of Imboden was backed up for miles Saturday morning. Construction signs began popping up last week warning of future work but Saturday’s backup was very bad.
Deputy Rocky Chappell of the Lawrence County Sherrif’s Office was stuck in the traffic jam for over 30 minutes Saturday before reaching the trouble spot were workers informed him of a 2 foot wide trench across the road that the crew had been working on. On top of that the crew informed him that they had an equiptment breakdown that pretty much halted traffic.
Workers were trying to cover the trench by hand according to Deputy Chappell in an effort to open traffic back up.
Sherrif Dan Ellison contacted the Lawrence County Dispatch Center to inform them of the problem and also advised the Dispatch Center to re-route ambulance traffic around the area via Clear Springs Road in the event of an emergency.
We would like to warn everyone to be extra careful while traveling south on Hwy.63, expect “Stops” and workers along the highway. The constructions begins just south of the City Limits of Imboden and continues south for 3 miles according to signs posted along Hwy.63.
As of early afternoon on Saturday the delays were still long and no word on if this was going to be a common occurance during the construction. We were told that the work was not that of the Arkansas Highway Department but that of a private contractor.
