Section of Michigan's Tunnel of Trees road washes out after heavy rain, snowmelt

A culvert failure washed out a section of M-119 in Emmet County, Mich. on April 13, closing part of the scenic Tunnel of Trees route between Good Hart and Cross Village, the Michigan Department of Transportation said.

According to an MDOT report, a culvert beneath M-119 south of Division Road failed, washing out the roadway. Personnel are evaluating the washout and will develop a repair plan. No timeline for repairs is yet known. MDOT has partnered with the Emmet County Road Commission to establish a detour route on Island View Road and North State Road. 

"That unfortunately resulted in losing the entire roadway," James Lake, MDOT's north region media representative, told WCMU Public Radio. "It's washed away for probably, you know, between 50 and 100 foot section is now gone."

MDOT also closed M-119 near Stutsmanville Road south of Good Hart as a precaution, with traffic detoured on West Stutsmanville Road and Terpening Road. While that section of roadway has not yet been damaged, a washout on the side slope is very close to the roadway edge. MDOT said it is evaluating options to stabilize the slope. 

The Emmet County Sheriff's Office announced the closure Monday morning, saying the roadway "has been washed out presumably due to flooding" and urging drivers to seek alternate routes, according to a report by WILX.

The broader region was already under significant flood pressure heading into the weekend. Nicole Sprinkles, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord, said heavy rain was expected to continue Monday morning, with accumulation projected at 1 to 2.5 inches. "We're seeing some models even throw in some totals of upwards of 3 inches," Sprinkles said. She added that overnight lows were not expected to drop below freezing for most of northern Michigan that week, which would likely accelerate snowmelt across the region, Sprinkles told WCMU Public Radio.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch through Wednesday morning for northern lower Michigan, including Emmet County, citing flooding caused by a combination of rain and snowmelt, according to alerts published by the NWS. Excessive runoff was forecast to affect rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying areas.

Ami Woods, owner of the Good Hart General Store along the route, said the area has flooded before and that a similar washout occurred in the 1940s. Long-time locals refer to the area as the "Island View washout," she said. Woods noted the store remains open and that M-119 is accessible between Stutsmanville Road and Island View Road, according to the Petoskey News-Review.