Flathead County’s gravel roads sustained a fair amount of erosion damage this winter, especially in hilly areas where runoff problems were the worst.

“The gravel roads took a hit absolutely,” county Public Works Director Dave Prunty said. “We went from below-zero temperatures to melting, and the ditches were full with snow and ice berms. Water does a good job of finding the path of least resistance.”

McMannamy Draw, Rogers Lake Road and Haywire Gulch are among the gravel roads that sustained the most damage, Prunty said, but any road with some slope was prone to erosion.

“It’s my opinion it went so quickly from minus temperatures to a melting scenario there was no transition. The ground hadn’t thawed. And that last batch of snow was sizable.”

The county’s paved roads so far haven’t presented major problems, except for a slump along Columbia Falls Stage Road that’s 10 to 12 feet deep. Concrete head walls installed there many years ago to drain the area are acting as a reinforcement, he said.

“The concrete is holding everything together,” Prunty said. “We hope to get on this fix pretty quickly.”

The county is working with an adjacent landowner to get permission to work outside the county right of way during the repairs.

Last week county officials announced the closure of Sullivan Crossroad between Columbia Falls Stage Road and Middle Road. Washouts in the Niarada area were reported, but all roads in that area remained open.

Other roads that have been damaged but remain open include Browns Meadow Road and East Lakeshore Road.

“Generally the paved roads so far are not that bad,” Prunty said. “We definitely have potholes out there, but we’re not in terrible straits.”

Weight limits were put on most county roads late last week, and it’s possible there’s still some damage to come. The frost is still coming out of the ground and “things are still breaking up,” he said.

Prunty said he doesn’t have the final numbers on the cost of snowplowing for the winter, but doesn’t anticipate it exceeding the county road budget.

“I think we’ll find the snowplowing was pretty normal until the very end. We did well,” Prunty said.

The cost of winter road maintenance, including equipment, materials and labor, will run about $750,000 to $800,000. Any spring repair work is charged to various “cost centers” in the budget, such as gravel road maintenance or drainage work.

“It’ll be my bridge guys who do the repairs on Columbia Falls Stage. They do the drainage work,” Prunty said. “My guess is that job will run $25,000 to $30,000.”

This summer the county will proceed with routine overlay and chip-seal projects, but no big reconstruction jobs are scheduled this year, he said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.