State unsure when road damage in Powell County will be repaired

A section of road in Eastern Kentucky is down to one lane and state transportation cabinet officials say they aren't sure when it will be repaired.

South Fork in Powell County is down to one lane near Hall Hill Road because a section of the road has started to fall away.

The pavement has dropped off and barrels warn drivers of the danger.

People living near the damaged road say they're afraid someone will get hurt if it isn't fixed but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says that may not happen soon.

A spokesperson for District 10, H.B. Elkins, says unlike other road closures they've seen in Eastern Kentucky, this one isn't solely an act of nature.

Elkins says a nearby property owner was digging below the road and that accelerated the collapse, although he says the rain didn't help.

He says they applied for funds from FEMA but that request was denied because of the circumstances of the collapse.

He says they aren't sure when funds will be available to repair the road.

Elkins also said they are trying to determine if that property owner can be held liable for the damage.

Because of the damage to the road school buses are unable to travel up South Fork and parents are having to drive their kids to a nearby road to meet the bus.