Deteriorating roads are causing an increased number of road hazards in Pearl River County.

One such road has county resident Tom Marghelli concerned because he says it is progressively getting worse. A small section of Seal Crest Road, off of Neal Road, is deteriorating on the edge where the culvert comes out to the ditch, Marghelli said.

A long-standing problem has gotten worse since road workers pulled a section of culvert out of Seal Crest Road following Hurricane Katrina, Marghelli said. Since then the asphalt has been sinking and eroding, producing a potential hazard for motorists.

“I don’t want somebody to get hurt, but the way they drive, if you get two cars coming through here you got trouble,” Marghelli said, about drivers on the already narrow section of road. “I know it’s here so I’m careful, but if we get visitors coming through here, that’s what scares me.”

A situation at the intersection of Neal Road and Seal Crest Road is adding to the problem. Marghelli said that someone recently bought the piece of property on Neal Road across from Seal Crest Road and filled in the ditch to make a drive into the property. The problem is that no culvert was installed before the ditch was filled in, Marghelli said. Now when significant rain falls, the water backs up and eats at the other side of Seal Crest where the primary problem is, further narrowing the section, Marghelli said.

Marghelli said he first complained of the situation about three years ago, and the only work performed on the area was the removal of the section of the culvert that worsened the situation.

District IV Supervisor Robert Thigpen said he must have either lost the work order or filled one out that never was completed by the work crew, but he will call his crew to have them look at the problem immediately.

“I blew it, but I’ll get it done, I’ll get it fixed,” Thigpen said.

Thigpen said the existing piece of culvert must have been removed after it was damaged by previous work. To remedy the situation, Thigpen said crews will have to dig up the section of road and install a new PVC pipe as a culvert.