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St. Joseph County declares emergency, closes Hamilton Trail after culvert failure
Summary
County commissioners approved Resolution R-12-CD-2025 May 27 after engineers recommended closing Hamilton Trail just south of the state line because a culvert must be replaced; county plans to solicit quotes from three local contractors and expects construction to take about 30–45 days once started.
St. Joseph County commissioners on May 27 approved Resolution R-12-CD-2025, declaring a threat to public safety and authorizing a special purchase after county engineers identified a failing culvert under Hamilton Trail just south of the state line.
Skye Meaders, Department of Infrastructure Planning and Growth, told the commissioners that "one of our highway, area group leaders, identified an issue with a culvert that is, under Hamilton Trail just south of the state line." Meaders said the county "was recommended that we, close the road, which we we have done and put up detours." The board approved the emergency declaration and related procurement so work can begin.
Why it matters: the county closed the road and installed detours because the structure is in need of replacement. Meaders said plans and specifications already exist because the county had contracted a consultant with ARP planning funds to do the design, which should speed procurement and construction.
County staff said they will solicit quotes from three contractors identified for the work — Milestone Contractors, Reath Riley Construction and Selge Construction — using the existing design package. "We plan to, send, to 3 contractors ... to receive, quotes back and then proceed with the replacement," Meaders said. She also said staff are "proceeding with communication with, the regulatory agencies, Bridal, and the core to get the project done, but make sure that, they're aware with all the environmental items that we're we'll need to take care of while we're we're doing that." (Quote as spoken.)
Meaders estimated that the plans and specifications would be out for quote the following week because the design work was already advanced. She said construction ‘‘would probably be, I would say, 30 to 45 days’’ once work begins.
The board voted to approve the emergency resolution after a motion and second. The roll call as recorded in the meeting transcript was: Commissioner Morton, "Aye"; Commissioner McFlyer, "Aye." The motion carried.
County officials said the road will remain closed until the structure is replaced and that staff will manage required environmental permitting while moving the project forward using the ARP-funded design package.
Details to watch: solicitation of quotes from the three named contractors, environmental-agency coordination, and the timeline for starting construction. The county did not provide a firm construction start date at the meeting.
