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Drivers concerned about safety of Heights Road in Orion Township

Retaining wall next to the road collapsed on July 4.
Posted at 7:38 PM, Jul 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-10 21:14:18-04

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Drivers on one road in Orion Township contacted 7 Action News with a concern. They say getting around metro Detroit is looking dangerous on Heights Road since a wall next to the road collapsed.

People who were out on Lake Orion on the Fourth of July suddenly heard a loud boom. It wasn’t fireworks. It was a retaining wall crashing down. The retaining wall supports ground underneath Heights Road. Drivers are concerned about the safety of the road.

The Oakland County Road Commission says it is monitoring the road, making sure that the soil is not eroding away from under it.

“If it does begin to erode under the road, probably the first thing we will do is close that lane, if not the entire road,” said Craig Bryson, the Senior Manager of Communications at the Oakland County Road Commission.

Bryson says this is a rare situation in that the private retaining wall supports the land under a road. It is the property owner’s responsibility to fix it.

7 Action News reached out to that property owner. She said she is working to find a contractor to fix it.