County Road 73 will be closed next week for emergency repairs, road engineer Tony Wearren said.

A cold, wet winter wreaked havoc on many county roads, including 73, a main route from Thorsby to Wilton and Montevallo.

“We’ve already addressed probably six or eight of these type sites, and this is the one we’ve been dreading the most,” Wearren said. “We’re at the point now where we’ve got to get to it.”

Excess water has caused slides on the shoulders and dips and cracking in the pavement, so county workers next week will replace drainage pipes running under the road.

The road will actually have to be cut across at two different sites to install the new pipes.

County Road 73 will be closed from its intersection with County Road 107 to the intersection with County Road 2 and from County Road 54 to the Shelby County line.

Wearren stressed that the road will be impassable. On previous projects, motorists have driven around “road closed” signs to try to avoid detours.

Check The Clanton Advertiser and clantonadvertiser.com next week for information on the road reopening.