A hill slide caused by recent heavy rain has closed a segment of East Kelly Avenue in Belgium. It is a popular route for people who leave Illinois route one headed to the Grape Creek area. There are still other routes that motorists can take.
Belgium Mayor Dave Crowl fears it will cost a lot of money to solve the problem. But he says the road had to be closed to protect the public. ‘’Over the years the soil eroded away (on the hillside),’’ said the mayor. ‘’The last big storm where we got two inches of rain in like twenty minutes it started cascading down the hill.’’
(Part of East Kelly Avenue was washed out by the heavy rain.)
Mayor Crowl said it left debris blocking the road near a small bridge and exposed the roots of big trees that were still standing at the edge of the road. ‘’And with the trees rocking back and forth in the wind, we just had to close the road,’’ said Crowl. He said he did not want anyone to get hurt. ‘’I can’t take that chance.’’
The closure is not causing any problems for people getting to their homes. But the Belgium Mayor adds he does not know how long the road will be closed. He consulted with the Vermilion County Highway Department and Illinois Department of Transportation, and all agreed it should be closed.
(These rocks were placed along the hillside along East Kelly Avenue in hopes they would help prevent more mudslides.)
Since motorists were driving around the ‘Road Closed’ signs Tuesday it was decided to place piles of dirt to block the road. ‘’Now if someone tries to go around that they will end up in the creek,’’ warned the mayor.
