CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Boone County delegate is concerned about a major landslide along a busy highway that occurred during last week’s flash flooding.
Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, questioned DOH Chief Engineer of Operations Joe Pack about the slide at Tuesday’s interim meetings that has forced the closure of one lane on Route 94 on Lens Creek Mountain.
Holstein said Route 94 is a key highway.
“Everyone along Route 3 and the extension of Route 94, in order to get to Charleston in a timely manner that’s the road they have to use,” Holstein said. “If not. you are probably looking at an addition of 35 to 45 minutes, event longer for some other folks.”
Pack agreed with Holstein’s assessment of the damage. A massive amount of water came off the hillside last Thursday night and washed out the concrete-lined ditch and then traveled under the highway and washed out the hillside.
“The fill material got saturated and just collapsed under its own weight due to the water,” Pack said.
The highway is currently reduced to one lane at the landslide near the Kanawha-Boone county line. The DOH has installed a temporary traffic light to alternate traffic.
“This is a really big issue. Also our school buses and coal trucks, so commerce and students are traveling that road,” Holstein said.
Pack said there are several options available for repairs.
“I hope to have by the end of the day a course forward so we’ll have crews on site this week to start a repair, rather it’s by the soil melding method or constructing a steel piling wall like we’ve done in other parts of the state,” Pack said.