CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission has agreed to hire an engineering firm to evaluate property near Blue Creek Road, an area where a hazardous hillside and rock slides have blocked access multiple times to nearby homes.
The commission’s agreement to retain S&S Engineers of Charleston is a response to TransCanada sending engineers to the site to study possible problems.
Commissioners have focused on the road for several months with a concern about additional problems blocking access to more than 200 homes in Elkview. The commission has issued multiple notices of violations against TransCanada for violating the public nuisance ordinance on land adjacent to Blue Creek Road.
“This is an engineering issue,” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said. “It’s going to be all about hidden spring and slips and whether the road added to it.”
Carper noted the commission hired S&S Engineers for assessing Shawnee Park before construction of the sports complex, and commissioners trust the firm.
“They’ve done water and sewer projects. They’re local and in the county. A very responsible group,” he said.
Carper also announced the county is looking at similar hillside issues on Keystone Drive near Yeager Airport.
“They didn’t even come to us,” he said. “We heard about it, and we’re going to look at it.”
A 2015 landslide at Yeager Airport closed Keystone Drive and destroyed several structures.