SHAWMUT — As construction nears on a bridge on Canal Road that has served local residents since 1997, a handful of neighbors are concerned the rerouting of a county road could disrupt their daily lives.
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Travis Schuchard, the Wheatland County road supervisor, said that the bridge will be out of commission for approximately one to two weeks while necessary repairs are completed. The bridge requires replacement of a deteriorating piling, which will force the temporary rerouting.
Shawmut is a tiny town a few miles west of Deadman's Basin, a popular fishing spot along state Highway 12. The bridge is about one-and-half miles northeast of town and the best way for neighbors in the area to access the highway.
Chelsea Walls recently moved to the area and said she worries she'll have a harder time getting out of her neighborhood on the new route. The bridge is on a county-maintained road, but the road Walls said she will have to take once construction begins is a private road, Fireside Drive.
“Even with a four-wheel drive, it's not traversable. It's especially scary for EMS, fire, police that can't get to us, and we can't get our kids to school, and we're concerned,” Walls said.
Walls believes the county needs to do something to Fireside to make it more drivable before rerouting residents. Walls tried to drive Fireside once before, but turned around because she feared getting stuck.
"At this point, though, if you're going to reroute a whole community, I need the county to help," she said. "This is affecting other families. It's not just one person fussing.”
Schuchard reassured residents that an alternative route would be available, and it isn't Fireside Drive but another nearby private road called Firecracker Drive.
Schuchard and his team worked for three days to flatten out the road.
“It’s totally travelable today. It runs up the ridge to the east. So we figured it would be a little drier route,” Schuchard said.
Construction is anticipated to take place in the early summer months. Schuchard emphasized that the county is prepared and that "there’s nobody stranded there."
