ELKVIEW, W.Va. — A new bridge is being built at the Elkview Crossings Mall Plaza nearly a year after it collapsed in the June flood.
Concrete pillars were in place Tuesday on each side of the Little Sandy Creek. The plaza is located just off Interstate 79 in Kanawha County.
The bridge, which served as the only entrance to the shopping plaza, was washed out in the flood. Since then, businesses have been closed. Nearly 500 people were left without jobs.
Susan Jack, executive director of the Greater Kanawha Long-term Recovery Committee, said it’s been a long time coming.
“That whole scenario there, I feel, just went on way too long. It was damaging to the economy. Not only in the Elkview area, but Clendenin as well because we lost our grocery store here too,” Jack said.
The rebuilding of a new bridge will be an economic boost for the community, said Jenny Gannaway, executive director of West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).
“That’s going to help a lot of our families because not only were some of the families flooded and lost everything they had, they lost their job. This is going to help the economic part of our recovery, so we’re really happy and thrilled to see the work going on there,” she said.
Losing the access bridge meant Elkview and Clendenin residents had to shop elsewhere. Gannaway said a lot of people depend on the plaza.
“If you’re traveling the Interstate, you always stop there to get gas, you’d stop there to eat, some people stay at the hotel there. That’s made an impact on every body whether you work there or you use that on an every day basis,” she said.
J.F. Lacaria with the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church said having the new bridge will restore hope and the get the community back on its feet.
“To have the Elkview Crossings Mall come back alive is really bringing layers of life back into the community,” he said.
Tara Retail Group, the mall’s property owners, is responsible for the construction and financing of the structure.
Construction is expected to be complete by this summer.