CHARLESTON, W.Va. –– Demolition work began along Keystone Drive in Charleston Tuesday morning for 18 homes that will soon be torn down after sustaining major damage from the massive hillside collapse at Yeager Airport’s overrun area earlier this year.
The airport purchased 20 properties and expect to clear out 18 houses within the next several weeks.
“This is a critical step along the way to returning Keystone Drive to normalcy,” said Yeager Airport spokesman Mike Plante.
The Mar. 12 slope failure destroyed a church, damaged several homes and displaced a number of residents. The on-going battle between the airport and their insurance company, AIG, continues after months of waiting for their insurer to pay the price of slide-related costs. Plante said the settlement regarding the lawsuit they filed against the company is also still pending.
“If it were up to us, we would’ve had all this done well before now, but we’re limited in terms of resources until insurance companies start coming forward,” said Plante.
After the homes are cleared out, Plante said work will continue on the top of the hillside.
“More material is being removed each day, so that we can get down to the bottom of the toe and then, ultimately, begin removing material that’s on Keystone Drive itself,” he said.
Rodney Loftus & Sons is the contractor completing the demolition.
The Kanawha County Commission has made $180,000 available to begin this part of the mitigation process.