BILLINGS - The city of Billings is still dealing with numerous issues related to the flash flooding nearly 10 days ago.
One of those is the sink hole on Gabel Road.
The Billings City Council passed an emergency resolution to get that fixed quicker.
Heavy rain in early June caused extremely high runoff on Hogan Slough at Gabel Road east of South 27th Street West.
The overflow damaged the culvert and the road.
The City Council approved the resolution, giving the city administrator authority to spend approximately $500,000.
If the city had to go through the normal bid process, it would take about two months for the approval before construction would begin.
"If we hire an engineer and go through all those standard advertising periods, that time even to get the pipe is very extended," said Mac Fogelsong, Billings city engineer. "So this allows us some flexibility to kind of start ordering pipe work on the design and work on the fix at the same time to where we can get it replaced in a timely manner. "
Fogelsong expects temporary repairs to allow Gabel Road to open in a week or less.
Later the road will have to be closed when the old pipe is replaced.
