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© Jessie L. Bonner/The Associated Press
The Idaho Transportation Department closed a section of Highway 55 east of Homedale Sunday evening after a culvert failed and irrigation waters ate a 20-foot wide hole into the side of the road.

Until it is repaired, drivers must take detours along Pershall, Edison and Thompson roads.

A Department of Transportation spokesman listed two probable causes for the culvert's failure: holes in the pipe allowed water to seep through or debris plugged the pipe so pooling water undermined surrounding earth.

The culvert, located just east of the Ion Truck Stop at the junction of Idaho 55 and U.S. 95, began to collapse some time between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., he said.

Water from the North Diversion Drainage canal continued to undermine the roadway into the evening, washing away clumps of dirt and pavement. It had cut more than halfway under the highway.