CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways is being dogged by slips and slides along West Virginia highways following nearly three straight weeks of rain.
In recent days, the DOH has responded to three major slides in Logan, Kanawha and Marshall counties along with a number of smaller slides.
“Any state that has the mountains that we do and as much precipitation as we’ve had I think you’re real susceptible to that and I think you are seeing that in these areas,” Walker said.
The most recent slide came Thursday in eastern Kanawha County when U.S. Route 60 at Cedar Grove was blocked with a rock slide. Other major slides are on Fish Creek Road in Marshall County, which is near a power company substation and on Route 10 in Logan County, where a detour will be in place for several weeks.
Walker said some of the smaller slides will be put on the backburner.
“Some we practice triage. We can get things brushed up and off the road. If we can get (emergency) vehicles in, then it may have to sit there a while,” he said.
The DOH will spend more than $500,000 over the next few days helping improve Kelly Mountain Road, 17-mile detour to get around the Route 10 slide in Logan County.
“We are paving part of that road and adding a tremendous amount of guardrail to make that road safer,” he said.
The stagnant condition of the state road budget has been well-documented. Walker said slip and slide repairs caused by the excessive rain won’t help things. He said it will impact other projects.
“It will come back somewhere, somehow with these kinds of repairs that we need made. We don’t know where but some project is going to be affected by it that’s for sure,” Walker said.