PITTSTON — A section of Route 27 is set to receive emergency repairs starting Saturday because heavy rain in recent days has accelerated problems with its culvert, state officials said.

In a news release, the Department of Transportation said the project would last Saturday through Tuesday and require that portion of the road to be closed or reduced to one lane of traffic. A detour will start at the intersection of Route 27 and Route 194 and will end at the intersection of Route 27 and Kelley Road in Pittston, according to the release.

The detour starts about 6 p.m. Saturday and officials expect the road to be reopened to two-way traffic Tuesday night.

Local traffic will be allowed to travel about a half-mile south of Stage Road. In addition, no oversized loads, oversized width or oversized weight will be allowed through the detour route, the release said.

The bid for the state project adds up to $75,000, according to department spokesman Ted Talbot.

“It had been identified as needing to be done — that was due later this summer — but because it deteriorated faster than we anticipated this has moved to the top of the list,” Talbot said.

The culvert is 20 feet deep and concrete material is “slumping” into the drainage pipe, he said.

“The permitting for this has taken over six months to date, but it’s failing faster than we had hoped and it’s now an emergency situation,” Talbot said. “The culvert is blocked, water is flowing under the road and, in fact, the water is making its own path at this point.”