CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission has signed an engagement letter to retain legal counsel related to issues on Blue Creek Road in Elkview.
The commission agreed Thursday to hire Isaac Forman as the body looks to solve issues with a rockslide impacting the road. The state Department of Transportation has told the county the rockslide is located on private property next to the road.
Forman is a partner at Hissam, Forman, Donovan, Ritchie in Charleston.
The county is trying to determine who owns the site and how to prevent further blockages of the road; a large boulder blocked the road for several days in 2015 while mud closed the road several times in 2018.
Commissioner Lance Wheeler recently visited the site with local and state officials to examine the road and possible ways to address the problems.
“We did realize there might have been some construction in the past that was done,” Wheeler said.
State crews have cleared the road multiple times. Blue Creek Road is the only means of accessing more than 200 homes.
“While we were out there on the side of the road, I saw dozens of cars within five minutes traveling through that area,” Wheeler added. “I saw the home and the residents, and to know we are going to have another slippage — which we know is going to happen — they’re going to be blocked from getting in and out, and our emergency vehicles are going to be blocked from getting in and out.”
County officials discussed possible state grants for addressing issues with the road, but the earliest the county could receive the funding is late 2022.
“This is going to have a dangerous slippage within that time,” Wheeler warned. “It’s not going to work.”